Crusader for global health
As president of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Dr. Joanne Liu and her organization have been on the front lines of the world’s first Ebola epidemic.
Liu repeatedly got it right, and MSF was at the right places at the right times. In this case, that meant where help was most needed. MSF was right when it sounded the alarm about the unprecedented spread of Ebola. And it was right in sounding the alarm for increased global action. Under incredibly difficult circumstances, Liu was focused and flexible. Most important, she charged—and continues to charge—the world to better respond to crises.
For me and for CDC’s more than 800 experts who have worked in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea over the past year, it has been a privilege to work alongside Liu and her colleagues. Together with the people of these countries, we can get West Africa to zero cases of Ebola—and keep it at zero.
Dr. Frieden is the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)