WHO strategic response plan 2015: West Africa Ebola outbreak
WHO
ISBN 978 92 4 150869 8 :: 27 pages
pdf: Ebola response strategic plan 2015
Overview
The outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in West Africa is unprecedented in its scale, severity, and complexity. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are still affected by this outbreak, and are struggling to control the epidemic against a backdrop of extreme poverty, weak health systems and social customs that make breaking human-to-human transmission difficult. While encouraging progress has been made, there is still a considerable effort required to stop all chains of transmission in the affected countries, prevent the spread of the disease to neighbouring countries and to safely re-activate life-saving essential health services.

Strategic objectives for WHO
1. Stop transmission of the Ebola virus in affected countries
2. Prevent new outbreaks of the Ebola virus in new areas and countries
3. Safely reactivate essential health services and increase resilience
4. Fast-track Ebola research and development
5. Coordinate national and international Ebola response

…OVERALL STRATEGY
The next step in the response is crucial: to build on the progress and lessons to date, especially on the critical role of communities. A critical step will be to limit the spread of the virus to the coastal areas of the three high-transmission countries before the onset of the rainy season in April–May 2015. The priority is to identify and isolate all new cases by the end of May, and to confirm that they have come from known transmission chains and contact lists….

…Conclusion
In collaboration with our partners, WHO is determined to support the affected countries to reach zero cases of Ebola virus disease in West Africa and to facilitate the early recovery of the health sector. The successful strategies and lessons already learned in the fight against this devastating disease underpin the pragmatic approach and practical activities encompassed in this new strategic plan for 2015. Getting to zero cases through rigorous surveillance and extensive and thorough case finding, case investigation and management, and contact tracing can only be achieved with the vigilance and close collaboration of our partners and the governments of the most-affected nations. Most importantly, at the district and community levels we need to anticipate and pre-empt resistance, demanding new ways of working and behavioural adaptations of service providers.
The response efforts must continue in earnest because, without the elimination of Ebola, the planned reactivation of essential services disrupted by the epidemic and the future recovery of the countries’ fragile economies and service infrastructures cannot successfully begin. WHO is working with its partners to make sure a positive legacy remains after this crisis; a legacy that encompasses strengthened health systems and a resilience and preparedness.