WHO Mobilized its Largest Response in the History of Ebola

Since notifying the world of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa on 23 March 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) has, in partnership with the international health community, mobilized its largest response to the most severe and most complex outbreak in the history of this disease.

WHO’s public health expertise, linkages with government and technical networks are unparalleled and resulted in collaboration across multiple UN agencies, mobilization of foreign medical teams, deployment of specialized laboratories, trainings for thousands of clinicians, delivery of millions of sets of personal protective equipment, and rapid development of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics.

Summary: WHO's achievements in the Ebola response

On the ground
950+ technical experts in the three most affected countries
present in more than 60 field sites

Supplies
More than 1.42 million sets of personal protective equipment
525+ motorbikes and trucks
800 treatment/community care centers
220+ safe and dignified burial teams

Disease detection
Deployed 450+ epidemiologists
Improved disease detection from an average of four contacts per patient to 50 contacts per patient

Training
Pre-deployment training for 6,500-plus medical and public health responders
Provided more than 250 types of training materials

Preparedness

Supporting more than 110 countries worldwide to ensure they are ready to respond to potential Ebola introduction

Research and development
Expediting vaccine trials from 10-plus years to 18 months