We Mustn’t Forget Other Essential Health Services during the Ebola Crisis

This Letter to the Editor, published in the BMJ, draws attention to the possible neglect of essential health services when faced with a public health emergency, such as the current Ebola outbreak.The authors advocate for support to be given to Ebola affected countries, and neighbouring countries, in order to implement the International Health Regulations. These regulations are a legally binding framework for coordinating public health emergencies of potential international concern, such as Ebola.At the same time, the authors emphasise that dealing with the Ebola outbreak must not be at the cost of other essential health services.The example of pregnant women in Sierra Leone is given. It is noted that before the Ebola outbreak  at least 2400 pregnant women were at risk of dying of maternal causes each year. Available evidence suggests that pregnant women may be more vulnerable to the consequences of Ebola and that women may be more at risk of becoming infected with the virus given their role as primary care givers. Furthermore, media reports have suggested that pregnant women have been triaged out of care because of concerns over the risks of Ebola transmission during birth.The authors conclude by calling for significant long term investment to rebuild the health systems in affected countries and to equip citizens with a stronger evidence based voice to enable them to hold their elected governments accountable to health commitments.The article can be accessed here. Payment of subscription is required to access the full article.Nam, S. L., & Blanchet, K. (2014). We Mustn’t Forget Other Essential Health Services During the Ebola Crisis. BMJ, 349: g6837.