--- title: Ebola Crisis: Experts Call WHO Response a 'Failure' description: A panel of 19 experts has condemned the World Health Organization's response to the Ebola crisis, calling it an "egregious failure" canonical: https://time.com/4123858/ebola-crisis-who-response-failure/ author: Joanna Plucinska article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-23T04:04:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:05.201Z article:section: Health og:title: Experts Slam WHO Response to Ebola og:description: Top panel calls the WHO's handling of Ebola an "egregious failure," og:url: https://time.com/4123858/ebola-crisis-who-response-failure/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89cd5df90f0c6740/698872622dce01ed569e69ee/491388416.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Ebola Treatment Center As Guinea Economy Rebuilds Ahead Of October Election og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Experts Slam WHO Response to Ebola twitter:description: Top panel calls the WHO's handling of Ebola an "egregious failure," twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89cd5df90f0c6740/698872622dce01ed569e69ee/491388416.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Experts Say the WHO's Response to the Ebola Crisis Has Been a 'Failure' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=6b48491e-7e87-4d58-afab-f625adb887a0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=6b48491e-7e87-4d58-afab-f625adb887a0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=6b48491e-7e87-4d58-afab-f625adb887a0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Ebola Fighters in the U.S. - TIME's Person of the Year 2014 [Watch (HLS stream): Ebola Fighters in the U.S. - TIME's Person of the Year 2014](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SBg4j1BY.m3u8) (6:15)  _Published 2014-12-10. Dr. Kent Brantly and other health care workers talk about surviving Ebola_ by [Joanna Plucinska](https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Nov 23, 2015 4:04 AM UTC  A healthcare worker assists a colleague to dress in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at an Ebola Treatment Center in Coyah, Guinea, on Sept. 10, 2015 A healthcare worker assists a colleague to dress in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at an Ebola Treatment Center in Coyah, Guinea, on Sept. 10, 2015 Waldo Swiegers—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Joanna Plucinska](https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Nov 23, 2015 4:04 AM UTC A panel of [19 experts](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/11/an-indictment-of-ebola-response/) brought together by the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on Sunday condemned the World Health Organization’s (WHO) response to the Ebola crisis, calling it an [“egregious failure.”](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/22/us-health-ebola-response-idUSKBN0TB10K20151122#YxkL6QwcT4v8eYQg.97) “People at WHO were aware that there was an Ebola outbreak that was getting out of control by spring, and yet it took until August to declare a public health emergency,” Ashish Jha, HGHI’s director and a member of the panel, said, according to [Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/22/us-health-ebola-response-idUSKBN0TB10K20151122#YxkL6QwcT4v8eYQg.97). The group accused the WHO of enabling “immense human suffering, fear and chaos” as a result of their delayed response to the epidemic, the [_Harvard Gazette_](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/11/an-indictment-of-ebola-response/) adds. The conclusions come from [a study](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2815%2900946-0/fulltext) published by the experts in the British medical journal _the_ _Lancet_, according to the [_Gazette_](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/11/an-indictment-of-ebola-response/). The panel also offered 10 recommendations to prevent similar epidemics from causing as much damage. “We need to strengthen core capacities in all countries to detect, report and respond rapidly to small outbreaks in order to prevent them from becoming large-scale emergencies,” said [Peter Piot](http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/piot.peter), the director of LSHTM, according to Reuters. The Ebola crisis has claimed at least 11,300 lives in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since December 2013, Reuters reports. The WHO has yet to respond to the panel. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/22/us-health-ebola-response-idUSKBN0TB10K20151122#YxkL6QwcT4v8eYQg.97)\] ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] When a disaster comes to the place where you are you can either choose to flea. Or to stay and respond to it. I went to Liberia in the first place to serve the people of Liberia and West Africa and Ebola outbreak didn't change that purpose. In fact it emphasized it a little more. [ MUSIC ] We first heard about Ebola in Liberia in March. I was actually at a picnic and somebody said, have you heard that there's an Ebola outbreak in Guinea and it's spread across the border to Liberia? One of our doctors was very concerned about the possibility of it coming to our. Mission Hospital. She felt that we should prepare an isolation unit. Not so much in case we had ebola, but when we, received an ebola patient. My choice to stay in Liberia and take care of patients with ebola and help fight this outbreak is really a natural response. [ MUSIC ] The day I found out that I had Ebola, it was a Saturday. It was July 26th. It was on July 22nd the last day I went to the isolation unit. Wasn't feeling really great, but it felt very much like malaria. So for the next four days, took malaria medication. I was lying in my bed, in my house, where I had been quarantined. And Dr. Lance Plyler who is the disaster response team leader for Samaritan's Purse was standing outside my bedroom window. And Dr. John Thankhouser, one of my colleagues and friends who was caring for me was in my room with me in full PPE. And Lance said, Kent bud, we have your test results. And I'm really sorry to tell you that it's positive for Ebola. [ MUSIC ] David came home. Told me that Kent Brantly had Ebola and, and that was really tough. Because Kent and Amber are not only colleagues but, but they're good friends. [ MUSIC ] And then David sat in the ICU also having Ebola. It's really a very surreal moment, it was a very solemn moment. I remember David reaching out to comfort me, put his arms around me and I just said don't and I knew how dangerous it was. My first response was okay. So what's next? What's our plan? How am I gonna tell my wife? I felt a very strange but overwhelming sense of peace. Obviously, when you get that kind of news, it's sobering and it's, it's hard to hear. At that time I was. Concerned about my family and what it would put them through for me to be sick. But I had a sense of calm that I knew I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. I didn't know whether I would live. I didn't know whether I would die. But the Lord just gave me this sense of peace. Two Americans both infected with the deadly virus are returning home to the U. S.. Doctor Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol. The first time I heard the word Ebola it was probably when they were doing all the coverage about Doctor Brantly and Nancy and then when I heard it in Dallas it was couple hours before I was about to get Mr. Duncan as, as my patient. An individual travelling from Liberia has been diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. I was just feeling confused, shock, as to how it could've gotten here. Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. Is fighting for his life. I was selected as a part of the team. There was no question in my mind whether or not I would take care of the patient or not. There was a patient in my unit on my floor and it was my job. My responsibility to take care of him. It's part of who I am. Nursing is a calling. There was a patient that needed help [ MUSIC ] I did everything that the CDC and the hospital recommended of me. How to put on the personal protective equipment, how to take it off. I even interviewed with the CDC and the hospital after I took care of Mr. Duncan, and they deemed me no risk. So it was just a shock. When I got the results back that my, I was positive for Ebola I almost didn't hear it. It's kind of a blur. My chief nursing officer Cole Edmondson, and then a CDC doctor came in the room in their full protective. Equipment. I saw his eyes and they had been red from crying and I knew immediately, when he told me, I just, my heart dropped. And it was a devastating news. It really was. [ MUSIC ] Because Mr. Duncan had died. Three days prior. I think flashback started coming to my head of how his disease progressed. And eventually it led to his death. Even after the last case of Ebola is finished there's gonna be a. Very broken and weak healthcare system that's gonna need to be rebuilt. Our concern and our great hope is that even though it's quieted down here, that we will not allow it to just not be addressed anymore. We live in a global community. We need to. Recognize that people on the other side of the world, they are our neighbors, and we need to treat them with love and compassion, and respect, just like we do to the person who lives in the house next door to us. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4123858/ebola-crisis-who-response-failure/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4123858/ebola-crisis-who-response-failure/"},"headline":"Experts Say the WHO's Response to the Ebola Crisis Has Been a 'Failure'","datePublished":"2015-11-23T04:04:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:57:05.201Z","description":"The Ebola crisis has claimed at least 11,300 lives in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since December 2013","url":"https://time.com/4123858/ebola-crisis-who-response-failure/","keywords":["ebola","Sierra Leone","WHO","World Health Organization","Guinea","epidemic","Liberia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89cd5df90f0c6740/698872622dce01ed569e69ee/491388416.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89cd5df90f0c6740/698872622dce01ed569e69ee/491388416.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ebola Treatment Center As Guinea Economy Rebuilds Ahead Of October Election","caption":"Ebola Treatment Center As Guinea Economy Rebuilds Ahead Of October Election","creditText":"Waldo Swiegers—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4123858/ebola-crisis-who-response-failure/","name":"Experts Say the WHO's Response to the Ebola Crisis Has Been a 'Failure'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ebola Fighters in the U.S. - TIME's Person of the Year 2014","description":"Dr. Kent Brantly and other health care workers talk about surviving Ebola","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SBg4j1BY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-10T11:44:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SBg4j1BY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4123858/ebola-crisis-who-response-failure/","duration":"PT6M15S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4123858/ebola-crisis-who-response-failure/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```