Ebola and the WHO: A journey from toothless tiger to global dragon?

It has been almost 2 years since the world first became aware of the dreadful Ebola epidemic in West Africa that has caused over 11000 deaths in more than 28 000 victims.1 Weekly surveillance reports from the World Health Organization have led to guarded optimism that the outbreak is almost over. The much discussed, dissected and anticipated pandemic of Ebola filovirus disease never eventuated, and is unlikely to do so. Such a ferocious outbreak with pandemic potential should have been a showpiece of the WHOs skills in managing public health emergencies; instead it highlighted deficiencies within the organisation. Criticism of the WHO, both by external voices and from within, has loomed large in the background throughout the outbreak, bringing into question both its purpose and pre-eminence in guiding global health.