Conclusions and recommendations
The international response
1. We commend all
those who have risked their lives in the effort to tackle Ebola,
and in particular Médecins Sans Frontièrs, which
was the first international organisation to recognise the scale
of the epidemic and respond accordingly. Unfortunately the World
Health Organisation was slow to do likewise. This was a failing
on its part. However, it was also a failing on the part of its
members, who cut its funding and have put insufficient emphasis
on building sustainable health systems in developing countries,
as our report on Strengthening Health Systems in Developing Countries
demonstrated. The global health system remains dangerously inadequate
for responding to health emergencies. (Paragraph 5)
2. We recommend
the UK Department for International Development (DFID) press for
a review of the international approach to health emergencies,
incorporating the function, structure and funding of the World
Health Organisation and the role and expectations of major donors.
DFID should not wait for its 2015 Multilateral Aid Review to do
this; the urgency of the situation warrants immediate action.
(Paragraph 5)
DFID's response in Sierra Leone
3. DFID and other
donors initially underestimated the severity of the Ebola crisis.
We commend it for the vigour with which it is now approaching
its work in Sierra Leone. We agree with the Secretary of State
that urgent action is imperative, but we are concerned that Ebola
continues to outpace efforts to address it. (Paragraph 9)
4. We recommend
DFID write to us on a monthly basis detailing progress on, and
plans for, aid disbursement, staff deployment and other actions
to tackle Ebola. (Paragraph
9)
Legacy in Sierra Leone
5. The health system
in Sierra Leone has been overwhelmed by Ebola. Given the post-conflict
fragility of development in the country and the severity of the
epidemic, this was inevitable. However, had more attention been
paid over recent years to strengthening the health system, and
had more Sierra Leonean health professionals been retained in
the domestic system, the impact of Ebola would have been less
severe. So too would have been the cost of tackling the outbreak.
(Paragraph 14)
6. We reiterate
the recommendations of our report on Strengthening Health Systems
in Developing Countries and recommend that strengthening the health
system be the centrepiece of DFID's reconstruction plans for Sierra
Leone. We further recommend that DFID and the Department of Health
undertake a review of the training of health professionals in
the UK and the impact on the developing world. (Paragraph 14)
7. DFID rightly identifies
defeating Ebola as quickly as possible as the most important step
in giving Sierra Leone the best chance of successful reconstruction
and development in the long term. It is also right to be planning
for that long term now. It is imperative that, once the immediate
crisis is over, the eyes of the world do not turn away from the
region. (Paragraph 15)
8. We recommend
that DFID convene a global conference in early 2015 to agree a
common plan for post-crisis reconstruction in the region.
(Paragraph 15)
| 
