Internal documents acquired by the Associated Press show that the World Health Organization held off on declaring a public health emergency when Ebola cases started in West Africa. The United Nations agency let two months pass before making their move.

For the most part, the WHO was worried about the repercussions of calling an emergency, angering the countries involved, hurting economies in the region or interfering with the pilgrimage to Mecca. An infectious disease expert likened this reasoning to not calling firemen in the event of a fire for fear of disturbing the neighborhood.

WHO Director General Margaret Chan always said the epidemic surprised the world, adding the disease was unfamiliar and unexpected. Last week, she was reported as stating the first sign that an Ebola crisis was happening in West Africa came late July 2014, when a consultant fell fatally ill.

However, according to the internal documents AP obtained, WHO senior directors in the agency's Geneva headquarters were told about the seriousness of the situation earlier but decided against declaring a global emergency. At the very least, a declaration was considered in early June but it was to be done only as a last resort.

"People often confuse the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern with our operational response. It is very different. WHO mounted a strong operational response a year ago when we were notified the outbreak was Ebola," countered the agency.

By the time the WHO officially declared Ebola as an international agency though, almost 1,000 people have already died.

Chan has declined to comment about the issue but top Ebola official for the WHO Bruce Aylward said simply declaring a global emergency sooner would not have magically made Ebola go away. That is true, but an earlier warning would have prompted earlier response that could have saved more lives. Since the outbreak began, over 10,000 people have died due to Ebola.

The WHO is the only agency in the world authorized to lead global responses to health crises through a variety of means. The way it handled the Ebola outbreak has been seen as lacking, prompting calls for reforms in the agency.

For what it's worth, the WHO is well aware that changes are needed from within to help the agency do its best work. Proposals for reforms have been passed around since the 1990s but nothing major has been implemented to benefit the agency's goals.

Photo: Maria Elena | Flickr