NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it will study the idea of using sanctions to punish countries that do not comply with global health regulations, following widespread failures in the response to the Ebola outbreak.

The WHO has created a committee to review the fiercely-criticised global reaction to the Ebola epidemic, including why so many countries seemingly disregarded the International Health Regulations (IHR) agreed a decade ago by 194 member-states.

The head of the committee, Didier Houssin, said lack of awareness about the rules and a lack of capacity in health systems – especially among the low-income west African nations hit hardest by Ebola – could be partly to blame.

But, he told journalists, WHO also intends to study whether a tough penalty system could lead to better compliance when the next serious outbreak emerges.