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Public health emergencies may strike at any time and in any part of the world. The occurrence of an emergency may have a profound impact on human population. Additionally, public health emergencies may have untold impact on people’s health and wellbeing. For this reason, timely response becomes a critical component of effective management of public health emergencies. The United Nations has, for example, played a significant role in the management of public health emergencies such as the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. This essay aims at analyzing the role of the United Nations in responding to Ebola in West Africa. Some of the aspects that will be covered include a description of the United Nations Agency, Public health needs of Congo, challenges experienced in responding to Ebola emergency, Collaborations with other agencies and the effectiveness of United Nations Agency response.
Currently, the United Nations has 15 agencies specialized in the provision of assistance in areas of social and economic endeavor. The agencies work independently but collectively constitute the United Nations. The United Nations has continued to play a leading role in the fight against Ebola in Congo and other parts of West Africa(Ourworld,2019). United Nations social security council makes all decisions relating to the maintenance of international peace and security, which comprise of 15 member states. Any decision arrived at by the council becomes binding to all member states.
Following the outbreak of Ebola back in 2014, UN security convened its first emergency meeting in which the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa was declared a threat to peace and security (Ourworld,2019). The declaration was later followed by a deployment of an emergency health mission. To date, the United Nations has continued to play a leading role in combating Ebola in Congo and other parts of West Africa. As part of management of the Ebola Crisis, a resolution was arrived at to have all member states contribute human and capital resources to counter the emergency. Additionally, measures were put in place to prevent further spread of the disease (Ourworld, 2019).
Before the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, no health emergency of such magnitude had ever been witnessed. The suffering and consequences of millions of people affected by the epidemic were quite intense. In any health emergency such as the West African Ebola outbreak, health services become an integral aspect of successful mitigation. Therefore, some of the health needs of the affected individuals included treatment, protection from potential infections. Emergency management principles are based on the phases of emergency mitigation, preparedness, response and disaster recovery (Oleribe et al.,2015). The mitigation phase entails the assessment of most potential risks to identify most critical hazards. Emergency Prepared on the hand involves the enforcement of strategic measures to facilitate successful emergency response. Similarly, emergency response consists in responding to a disaster after its actual breakout. Finally, emergency recovery is the process of dealing with the aftermath of the emergency(Ourworld, 2019).
The 2014 outbreak of ebola in Congo marked the seventh outbreak of the virus in the country. So generally, there was prior knowledge of the disease before the 2014 eruption (Waheed, 2014). However, concerning the response principle, the country’s health system was faced with various challenges including acute shortage of health workers, nurses and doctors and irregular coverage of primary healthcare services. However, with technical support from the World health organization, a significant milestone was reached in the management of the virus (World Health Organization, 2014).
Having been the first case of such magnitude for the United Nations, the management of the epidemic was characterized by multiple challenges. Notably, the fact that the outbreak of the virus was unprecedented made its effective response quite daunting (Alexander et al.,2017). Additionally, the speed at which the epidemic was spreading outmatched the efforts put in place to manage it (United Nations,2019). The impact of the virus on healthcare services has also been a significant challenge on the management of ebola virus. A large number of nurses, doctors, and healthcare workers have been affected by a high number of deaths being reported. Similarly, a substantial geographical area affected posed a significant challenge in active management by increasing the risk of further spread. The weak healthcare systems in the affected countries were also a major setback in the effective management of Ebola in West Africa (Shoman, Karafillakis & Rawaf, 2017).
Collaboration is an integral aspect of successful emergency management. In managing cases of Ebola in West Africa, the United Nations collaborated with other actors such as the World Health Organization, United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Children’s Fund. The World Health Organization played a major role in the management of Ebola outbreak. The involvement of World Health organization through an emergency meeting in 2014 led the rise of a collaborative strategy used in the management of the emergency (Gatherer,2014). The collaborative approach played a major role in the coordination of technical Support involved in the fight against ebola. Additionally, the World Health organization determined the budget required in dealing with the crisis and published a roadmap for the response.
Additionally, the United Nations Children’s Fund played a significant role in the early efforts of detection and management of Ebola cases. In particular, the body made effective use of community-level interventions to stop the spread of the disease (Koenig, Majestic & Burns, 2014). Additionally, it was also tasked with the responsibility of reviving and strengthening healthcare systems of the affected countries. Finally, its efforts in halting the spread of the virus in countries that were not yet affected also played a leading role in the management of ebola outbreak (Joob & Wiwanitkit, 2014).
Finally, The United Nation’s General Assembly solicited support from its member's states to facilitate effective management of the crisis. Through its efforts, the United Nation’s mission for Ebola emergency response received substantial support from United Nation’s member countries (Burci & Quirin, 2015).
The success of emergency response interventions used in ebola management may be analyzed through several factors. These include the minimization of the impact on the affected population and the curbing of the spread. Form the overall implications of the interventions used by the United Nations. It can be concluded that its interventions were quite effective. By collaborating with other players, funds needed for the mission were easily raised. It, therefore, hastened the process of managing the health emergency. Additionally, the interventions used also minimized the spread of the virus in other countries and finally led to the suppression of the virus by 2016 (Wilson,2017).
In conclusion, the United Nations in collaboration with other players played a major in the management of ebola outbreak in West Africa. The process began with the declaration of the deadly virus as a threat to international peace and security. The outbreak of the virus led to the need for emergency medical care for the affected populations. However, the weak healthcare systems of the West African countries, as well as the fast spread of the, posed a significant challenge in the management of the Ebola emergency. However, based on the positive outcomes associated with the involvement of the United Nations in its response, the interventions can be said to have been quite successful.
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