The delayed global response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa was preventable and cost thousands of lives, according to a report from a leading medical charity. Marking the one-year anniversary of the first confirmed case, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) released a scathing report slamming international efforts by the World Health Organization and national governments, which created bottlenecks and allowed the epidemic to spiral out of control, Christopher Stokes, MSF’s general director, said in the report. The report also said if its initial warnings in June were not ignored, immediate action could have prevented the outbreak. MSF first declared the outbreak at the end of March, which WHO rejected and did not declare a public-health emergency until Aug. 8. More than 10,200 people have died in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone since March from the epidemic.
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