All humanitarian crises become more costly and complex to manage the longer they are left unchecked. The Ebola epidemic raging across the fragile west African states of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is proving to be a terrible example. The threat to public welfare and social stability posed by the virus has risen exponentially following a grossly inadequate response after the first cases were discovered earlier this year. The global community must muster a far more substantial effort if a catastrophe is to be averted.
When Ebola first emerged, the public health systems in affected states collapsed. Early warnings by Médecins Sans Frontières, the charity at the forefront of efforts to combat the epidemic, were described by some agencies and experts as alarmist. These critics were guilty of wishful thinking.
Trade and tourism across the continent have been damaged as fear has taken hold, flights to affected countries have been stopped and borders sealed. It is true that in the past many more people have died from preventable ailments that command less attention, such as diarrhoea. But the effect is not comparable. Ebola has no reliable cure and inspires panic like few diseases in recent history.