The Ebola leadership gap

September 29, 2014
by David Nather
Politco

The United States hasn’t exactly been leading the charge to turn that around. There’s no authoritative source of all U.S. contributions to the organization, but from 2010 to 2013, U.S. support for the WHO general fund — one of the main forms of voluntary contributions — dropped by 36 percent, from $280 million to $180 million, Michaud said.

That needs to change, public health experts say — and not just on the part of the United States, but among the other member countries, too. “We consistently underfund the WHO until there’s a crisis,” said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health.

And Frieden pushed back against the organization’s critics: “Whatever you think about the WHO, we need them. They’re essential. … What we’ve got to do is, help them get better.”

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