Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak
2017
This case describes the beginning of the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, focusing on the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as the disease spread into Guinea, Liberia, and eventually Sierra Leone. It highlights the initial detection of cases and differing organizational perspectives in predicting the epidemic’s eventual impact. The case concludes in April 2014, when WHO announced (incorrectly) that the epidemic was not expected to be more severe than other recent Ebola epidemics. The case would be useful in classroom discussion about organizational decision-making in health policy in a context of epidemic and uncertainty.
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Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak
Source:
De Vericourt F. Ebola: The Onset of a Deadly Outbreak. ESMT Berlin, Harvard Business School Publishing 2017. https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/ES1771-PDF-ENG.