GENEVA / EBOLA MARGARET CHAN

Speaking in Geneva at a meeting on Building resilient health systems in Ebola-affected countries, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said “we believe building health is a nation building strategy, without basic public health infrastructures and the systems in place, no country is stable.” WHO

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:04
• Production Date: 10 December 2014
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO
• Subject Topical: HEALTH; HEALTH SERVICES; SANITATION; PUBLIC HEALTH
• MAMS Id: 1262149

Description

STORY: GENEVA / EBOLA MARGARET CHAN
TRT: 1:04
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 10 DECEMBER 2014, GENEVA , SWITZERLAND

Shotlist

10 DECEMBER 2014, INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, GENEVA

1. Various shots, participants receiving accreditations
2. Wide shot, Hotel conference room
3. Med shot, audience
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO:
“We need to look at the context, the context that allowed Ebola to get out of control.”
5. Wide shot, podium, screen and audience
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO:
“We believe building health is a nation building strategy, without basic public health infrastructures and the systems in place, no country is stable.”
7. Med shot, audience
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO:
“At the start of the outbreaks, weaknesses existed throughout the health systems. Prior to the outbreaks, these countries had only one to two doctors to treat a population of nearly 100,000 people.”
9. Wide shot, Margaret Chan greeting participants at the conference room

Storyline

Speaking in Geneva today (10 Dec) at a meeting on Building resilient health systems in Ebola-affected countries, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said “we believe building health is a nation building strategy, without basic public health infrastructures and the systems in place, no country is stable.”

The meeting brought together health and finance ministers, non-state actors, donors and international technical agencies with the aim of laying the foundation for stronger health systems in the medium- to long-term in the Ebola-affected countries.

Chan explained that Ebola is a tricky and unforgiving virus, that can take advantage of any mistakes and exploit every opportunity to resist control, adding in “we need to look at the context, the context that allowed Ebola to get out of control.”
She stressed the need to find innovative solutions.

Among the objectives of the meeting was to identify the main constraints and challenges faced by countries in rebuilding and developing more resilient health systems.

Margaret Chan also stressed “we believe building health is a nation building strategy, without basic public health infrastructures and the systems in place, no country is stable.”

She said “at the start of the outbreaks, weaknesses existed throughout the health systems. Prior to the outbreaks, these countries had only one to two doctors to treat a population of nearly 100,000 people.”

The current Ebola epidemic in West Africa is one of the worst in the disease’s outbreak to date – in the three worst affected countries (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone), the total number of cases was 15,901, with 5,674 deaths, as of end November 2014.