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Title:

The Mission to Stop Ebola: Lessons for UN Crisis Response

Authors:

Adam Lupel and Michael Snyder

Date posted:

February 15, 2017

Publication type:

Article

Publication:

International Peace Institute, February 15, 2017

Publisher:

International Peace Institute

Availability:

Available on Publisher Website

See also:

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Introduction:

The Ebola epidemic of 2014–2016 was a fast-moving, multidimensional emergency that presented unprecedented challenges for the multi -lateral system. In response to the outbreak, which was spreading exponentially in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established the UN’s first-ever emergency health mission, the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER). UNMEER was mandated by the UN General Assembly in September 2014 to scale up and coordinate the activities of the UN presence on the ground working to stop the outbreak, which eventually claimed over 11,000 lives.

This report asks: Was UNMEER needed? Was it properly structured? Did it deliver? And what broader lessons can be learned from the experience of UNMEER for UN crisis response?