U.K.’s Slowness to Act on Ebola Cost Lives, Lawmaker Panel Says
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Britain’s reaction to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa cost “lives and money,” according to a U.K. parliamentary report that criticized the international response to the contagion as “totally inadequate.”
The outbreak, which as of Feb. 7 had resulted in 9,150 deaths and more than 22,000 cases, could have been contained had the Department for International Development recognized the risk of the disease sooner, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee said Wednesday. A commitment of 230 million pounds ($350 million) to construct health centers, provide treatment beds and train burial teams could increase to 330 million pounds, the department told the cross-party panel.