AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION
Dr. Margaret Chan
World Health Organization
Director General
Geneva, Switzerland
October 14, 2014
Dear Dr. Chan,
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the largest AIDS nonprofit organization in the USA that provides HIV care,
treatment and testing services in 36 countries worldwide. In carrying out our mission we have been directly
affected by the ongoing Ebola outbreak. Our Medical Officer in Sierra Leone, Dr. Sheik Humar Khan died due to an
Ebola infection in July and Dr. Taban Dada, a consultant with our partner organization in Liberia died on last week
on Thursday. In addition our service delivery operations in the country have been disrupted.
We have been engaged in a close and constructive dialogue with a number of top WHO officers handling the Ebola
crisis by sharing information and expressing our concerns regarding the progressions of the outbreak. However, at
this time we would like to inform you directly about some of our remaining concerns and specific requests that we
think will benefit the Ebola response and help quickly bring the outbreak under control while achieving a positive
long term impact. We urge the WHO:
1) To commit to the evacuation of any healthcare worker infected with Ebola in West Africa, not just
foreigners. They should be evacuated to well-equipped health facilities in Europe or other developed
countries that can effectively handle treatment of Ebola; Or as an alternative, state-of-the-art
regional isolation/medical sites should be created in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to provide care
to healthcare workers infected with Ebola. This approach should include immediate
evacuation/transfer to these sites.
2) To provide written assurances to the healthcare personnel in the three countries that they will be
evacuated and receive top-quality care in case of infection as a kind of specialized Ebola health
insurance and an incentive to continue or to start providing healthcare services.
3) To mobilize more well-trained healthcare workers from around the world and deploy them in the
West African Region. All of them should receive assurances of the rapid evacuation/specialized care
in case it is needed.
4) To procure appropriate protective gear and ensure that it is delivered and distributed without delays
in the areas of need. WHO should stop justifying poor supply management of critical medical supplies
by blaming government bureaucracies. In an emergency, formal bureaucratic processes must be
suspended in the interest of global public health.
5) To introduce and offer training in in initial home-based management of the Ebola patient to prevent
relatives or partners of getting infected during those stages.
6) To re-visit the WHO media and communication strategy, and ensure that the world is well-informed
about the situation on the ground and WHO’s contributions and plans for the immediate- and longterm future. The silence on what matters most is getting increasingly louder.
AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION
7) To hold press conferences twice a week, led by the WHO Director General, in order to inform the
public of progress, new challenges and recommendations to be taken up by the rest of the world.
8) After the Ebola crisis is over or brought under control, to call on the world leaders to rethink and
reshape the structure and mandate of WHO; It might be expedient to considerer the creation of an
Effective Public Health Emergency Body that can rapidly act in health crises or in instances when
emerging diseases have the potential to quickly spread to the rest of the world. This body should be
independent and have full executive powers to directly intervene and control a transmissible disease
based on scientific knowledge, irrespective of bureaucratic procedures or willingness/unwillingness of
a country to recognize such a disease as a global public health threat.
9) To involve, fund and support civil society organizations; Mainly those that have in-the-field
experience in providing healthcare services as part of a rapid response to control new and emerging
transmissible diseases.
We make these recommendations in good faith and believe that if they are considered and adopted, they will
enhance and facilitate the control of Ebola and benefit the future of Global Public Health.
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Miata Jambawai
AHF Country Program Manager in Sierra Leone
Miata.jambawai@aidshealth.org
Michael Weinstein
AHF President, USA
Michael.weinstein@aidshealth.org
Alice Kayongo
Regional Policy & Advocacy Manager, Uganda
Alice.kayongo@aidshealth.org
Penninah Iutung Amor
AHF Chief, African Bureau, Uganda
Penninah.iutung@aidshealth.org
Larissa Klazinga
Regional Policy & Advocacy Manager, South Africa
Larissa.klazinga@aidshealth.org
Terri Ford
Global Policy & Advocacy Chief, USA
Terri.ford@aidshealth.org
On behalf of the above signatories and the entire AHF, this letter is submitted at WHO in Geneva by
Jorge Saavedra
Global Ambassador, Mexico
Jorge.saavedra@aidshealth.org
AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION. 6255 W. Sunset Blvd. 21st Fl.
Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA +1 (323) 860-5200