The United Nations and the Global Ebola Response. The UN emergency health mission "UNMEER"

Lessons learned and recommendations for similar future health emergencies

Masterarbeit , 2015 , 113 Seiten , Note: no grade yet

Politik - Thema: Internationale Organisationen

The unprecedented scope and implications of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa has confronted the international community with challenges in responding to the crisis. On 19 September 2014, the first-ever UN emergency health mission, United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), was established. UNMEER was set up as a temporary mission to bring together UN agencies and capabilities in the response, and closely collaborate with governments, NGOs, Member States and other relevant actors, with the main strategic objective to stop the Ebola outbreak.
This thesis investigates the effects of UNMEER on the global Ebola response as a whole and assesses whether the establishment of the mission was the right decision to make from the UN side in response to the outbreak. In this regard, the context in which UNMEER was established is scrutinized by examining the challenges faced in the outbreak and how these were approached by the international community. The analysis is predominantly based on qualitative primary data collected through individual semi-structured interviews with respondents who are or have been directly involved in the Ebola response, as well as on secondary data.
Findings show that UNMEER had a positive impact on the response in various respects. The exceptional decision from the UN side to establish the first-ever emergency health mission increased worldwide awareness of the outbreak and catalysed a high-level political and financial international engagement in the response. Furthermore, there seems to be a positive attitude towards UNMEER’s role in bringing together UN agencies under a single structure in the response as well as the logistics support provided by UNMEER to UN agencies and other partners working in the response. However, due to a lack of presence and a limited number of staff in the affected countries, effective collaboration with organizations involved on the ground did not sufficiently materialize. Findings indicate that overall, responders were not satisfied with UNMEER’s impact on the ground. This seems to be rooted in i.a. a significant gap between responders’ expectations and perceptions of UNMEER, due to lack of clear information from UNMEER’s side on what exactly could be expected of the mission.Drawing on research findings and lessons learned from the outbreak, instead, existing resources and systems under the UN Office for the Coordination of of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) should have been reinforced.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Abstract
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1 Current state of research
  • 1.2 Research relevance
  • 1.3 Structure of the report
  • 1.4 Methods and Limitations
• 2. Background
  • 2.1 Ebola Virus Disease
  • 2.2 The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa
    • 2.2.1 Historical background of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia
• 3. Challenges
• 4. UNMEER
• 5. Analysis
  • Introduction to Analysis and Timeline
  • 5.1 Stage 1: March 2014 – July 2014
    • 5.1.1 The onset of the outbreak and first steps in the response
    • 5.1.2 Unprecedented outbreak and lack of acknowledgement
    • 5.1.3 The role of the WHO Regional Office for Africa
    • 5.1.4 Financial assistance versus humanitarian assistance
    • 5.1.5 Increasing awareness
    • 5.1.6 By the end of July
  • 5.2 Stage 2: August 2014
    • 5.2.1 Increased national response
    • 5.2.2 WHO and the declaration of a PHEIC
    • 5.2.3 Increased international response
    • 5.2.4 Acknowledgement at the national level
    • 5.2.5 The UN scale up of response efforts
    • 5.2.6 Private sector engagement
    • 5.2.7 Was the declaration of a PHEIC too late?
    • 5.2.8 The governments of the affected countries
    • 5.2.9 International reaction or inaction
    • 5.2.10 Other challenges
    • 5.2.11 By the end of August
  • 5.3. Stage 3: September 2014
    • 5.3.1 Calls for international action
    • 5.3.2 Increased international response
    • 5.3.3 UN system wide response
    • 5.3.4 The establishment of UNMEER
    • 5.3.5 Responsibility to lead
    • 5.3.6 UNMEER or reinforcing existing systems
    • 5.3.7 UNMEER raised awareness
    • 5.3.8 By the end of September
  • 5.4 Stage 4: October and November 2014
    • 5.4.1 Increased response efforts
      • 5.4.1.1 Response scale up by the US and the UK
      • 5.4.1.2 The African Development Bank Group
      • 5.4.1.3 Establishment of the Air Coordination Cell
      • 5.4.1.4 Medical evacuation (medevac)
      • 5.4.1.5 China opens Ebola treatment unit
    • 5.4.2 UNMEER’s impact on the response
      • 5.4.2.1 Accra Planning Conference
      • 5.4.2.2 Involvement of anthropologists
      • 5.4.2.3 Leadership of UN agencies and collaboration with actors outside the UN
      • 5.4.2.4 Rapid impact on the ground
      • 5.4.2.5 Logistics support
      • 5.4.2.6 Networking
      • 5.4.2.7 Support of national responses
      • 5.4.2.8 UNMEER HQs in Accra, Ghana
      • 5.4.2.9 UNMEER personnel
    • 5.4.3 Progress towards the 30-day and the 60-day target
    • 5.4.4 Success stories of Senegal and Nigeria
    • 5.4.5 First Ebola case in Mali
    • 5.4.6 By the end of November
  • 5.5 Stage 5: December 2014
    • 5.5.1 District-by-district approach and “Western Area Surge” in Sierra Leone
    • 5.5.2 Empty Ebola Treatment Units
    • 5.5.3 The African Union deploys health workers
    • 5.5.4 Efforts regarding long-term recovery and system strengthening
    • 5.5.5 Activation of Humanitarian Clusters
  • 5.6 Stage 6: 2015 and what’s next
    • 5.6.1 From Phase 1 to Phase 2 of the response
    • 5.6.2 UNMEER and the situation from January to July 2015
      • 5.6.2.1 Progress towards the 90-day target, January and February
      • 5.6.2.2 March, April, May
      • 5.6.2.3 June and July
    • 5.6.3 IFRC and MSF
    • 5.6.4 Meetings on Ebola in 2015
    • 5.6.5 What’s next?
  • 6. Conclusion of analysis and evaluation
  • 7. Lessons learned and recommendations for similar future health emergencies
    • 7.1 Reinforcing OCHA instead of creating a new emergency health mission
    • 7.2 Strengthen health systems in resource-weak countries
    • 7.3 Ensure implementation of the obligations under the IHR (2005) through a Global Fund
    • 7.4 Preformed medical teams and emergency contracts with health experts
    • 7.5 Emphasis on community engagement
    • 7.6 Increase partnership with the private sector
  • 8. Final remarks and further reflections
  • References
  • Pictures, Figures and Tables

  Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

  This report investigates the effects of UNMEER on the global Ebola response and examines whether the establishment of the mission was the right decision from the UN side. The research analyzes the reasoning behind UNMEER’s creation and assesses its role within the broader international response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, particularly from March 2014 to July 2015.

  • The role of the UN in responding to global health emergencies
  • The impact of UNMEER on the Ebola response in West Africa
  • The effectiveness of the global response to the Ebola outbreak
  • Lessons learned from the Ebola crisis and recommendations for future health emergencies
  • The need for strengthened health systems in resource-weak countries

  Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

  Chapter 1 introduces the research question and outlines the current state of research, relevance of the study, structure of the report, and methodological limitations. Chapter 2 provides background information on Ebola Virus Disease, its transmission, and the specific challenges of the 2014 West African outbreak. Chapter 3 discusses the establishment of UNMEER, its strategic objectives, and its initial phase of operation. Chapter 4 analyzes the response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa from March 2014 to July 2015, examining the role of various actors, including WHO and UNMEER, and highlighting the evolution of the crisis.

  Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

  The research focuses on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the UN’s response, UNMEER, the IHR (2005), global health governance, community engagement, social mobilization, health system strengthening, and lessons learned from the Ebola crisis.

• Hochschule: Aarhus Universitet
• Veranstaltung: International Studies
• Note: no grade yet
• Autoren: Salome Fischer (Autor:in), Emilie Brandt (Autor:in)
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2015
• Seiten: 113
• Katalognummer: V309360
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668076396
• ISBN (Buch): 9783668076402
• Sprache: Englisch
• Schlagworte: united, nations, global, ebola, response, unmeer, lessons