--- title: Jim Yong Kim: What The Ebola Virus Taught the World One Year Later description: Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group, looks back a year after the first outbreak of the Ebola virus. canonical: https://time.com/3755178/ebola-lessons/ author: Jim Yong Kim article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-24T11:00:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T05:22:40.822Z article:section: Health og:title: Jim Yong Kim: What The Ebola Virus Taught the World One Year Later og:description: Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group, looks back a year after the first outbreak of the Ebola virus. og:url: https://time.com/3755178/ebola-lessons/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jim Yong Kim: What The Ebola Virus Taught the World One Year Later twitter:description: Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group, looks back a year after the first outbreak of the Ebola virus. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # What Ebola Taught the World One Year Later > 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=efa308a8-d334-45c8-b0bd-4cedc63db962&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | 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=efa308a8-d334-45c8-b0bd-4cedc63db962&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=efa308a8-d334-45c8-b0bd-4cedc63db962&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. by [Jim Yong Kim](https://time.com/author/jim-yong-kim/) ## Jim Yong Kim Mar 24, 2015 11:00 AM UTC by [Jim Yong Kim](https://time.com/author/jim-yong-kim/) ## Jim Yong Kim Mar 24, 2015 11:00 AM UTC On March 5, Liberian physicians discharged Beatrice Yardolo, an English teacher, from the hospital, hoping that she would be their last Ebola patient. Unfortunately, last Friday another person in Liberia tested positive for the disease that has killed more than 10,000 people in West Africa. The bad news was a reminder that the world must remain vigilant and insist that we get to zero Ebola cases everywhere. We also must support Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in their efforts to build back better health care systems to prevent the next epidemic. Beatrice survived Ebola but she and the other survivors have paid dearly because of the outbreak. She lost three of her 10 children to Ebola, her home was encircled in quarantine, and she’s been unable to work. She and her country face a daunting road back to recovery and they remain at risk of Ebola as long as there is a single case in the region. It didn’t have to be this way. The first global alert on the Ebola outbreak came one year ago, when its spread was still relatively limited to forested areas in southeastern Guinea. Once we recognized the severity of the epidemic, the World Bank Group committed more than $500 million to the three governments to help finance their immediate response. Although we disbursed the money in record time, it started flowing about eight months after the outbreak began because we and the rest of the international community failed to react sooner. The lessons from the Ebola outbreak are clear, and more to the point, they are not new. With every previous outbreak—SARS, Avian flu and others—the global community has committed to building better systems that would be capable of stopping the next epidemic. The political will to do so lasts a few months, but then we forget. This time, we must not forget and we should turn each of the lessons below into a clear plan to finally build a pandemic response capacity that is equal to the challenge. First, we must ensure that every country has a robust and resilient health system. This means a system that can deliver quality, essential health care and preventative services to everyone. Countries also need effective disease surveillance and diagnostic capabilities to rapidly identify, treat, and contain outbreaks. The Ebola crisis has made clear the significant economic downsides of failing to invest adequately in the health sector: These three countries have lost at least $1.6 billion in income. Second, communities must be empowered to serve as the front line for disease prevention and response. We know, for example, that a major driver of this epidemic was unsafe burials. It was only when traditional and faith leaders led the messaging and response that aggrieved family members and communities embraced safe practices. The substantial investments that have been made during the response in community health workers and community mobilization efforts should now be strengthened. Third, the Ebola crisis exposed the fragility of these countries. A health crisis became a development crisis. That’s why, for example, we are providing more than 10,000 tons of maize and rice seeds to more than 200,000 farmers across the three countries in time for the April planting season. We also know without investments in safe schools, roads, electricity and telecommunications, countries won’t be able to provide effective basic health services or contain the next outbreak. Last but not least, the global health system is ill-equipped both in terms of outbreak preparedness and response. A speedy response can save thousands of lives and potentially trillions of dollars. To help do this, the World Bank Group is developing the concept of a global pandemic emergency facility. Our goal is to work with partners to create a new financial instrument that can rapidly disburse a large amount of funds within eight hours, not eight months, of an outbreak. We need strong technical coordination led by a much bolstered World Health Organization; timely interventions involving corps of medical professionals, logistics experts, transport, pharmaceutical and communications companies; and financial support from public and private financial institutions. If we had this in place, Ebola might never have reached Beatrice Yardolo’s village. Her health would have been strong, her job secure, and all of her children thriving. We must do better next time. We owe it to Beatrice and to the thousands of other Ebola survivors to stop the next epidemic in its tracks, before it robs nations of hope and opportunity. As an infectious disease physician and president of the World Bank Group, I promise to do everything in my power to support the building of a global pandemic response capacity that can protect people and the global economy. This time, all of us must insist that we don’t forget. [_Jim Yong Kim_](https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/president/about-the-office/bio)_, MD, PhD, is president of the World Bank Group. He is a co-founder of_ [_Partners in Health_](http://www.pih.org/) _and formerly directed the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS department._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3755178/ebola-lessons/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3755178/ebola-lessons/"},"headline":"What Ebola Taught the World One Year Later","datePublished":"2015-03-24T11:00:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:22:40.822Z","description":"Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group, looks back a year after the first outbreak of the Ebola virus.","url":"https://time.com/3755178/ebola-lessons/","keywords":["Public Health","ebola","ebola virus","Ebola outbreak"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jim Yong Kim","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jim-yong-kim/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"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/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3755178/ebola-lessons/","name":"What Ebola Taught the World One Year Later"}}]}] ```