title: Global health security: the wider lessons from the west African Ebola virus disease epidemic.
abstract: The Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa was unprecedented in both its scale and impact. Out of this human calamity has come renewed attention to global health security--its definition, meaning, and the practical implications for programmes and policy. For example, how does a government begin to strengthen its core public health capacities, as demanded by the International Health Regulations? What counts as a global health security concern? In the context of the governance of global health, including WHO reform, it will be important to distil lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak. The Lancet invited a group of respected global health practitioners to reflect on these lessons, to explore the idea of global health security, and to offer suggestions for next steps. Their contributions describe some of the major threats to individual and collective human health, as well as the values and recommendations that should be considered to counteract such threats in the future. Many different perspectives are proposed. Their common goal is a more sustainable and resilient society for human health and wellbeing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Centre on Global Health Security, London, UK. Electronic address: david.heymann@lshtm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Heymann
authors.affiliation: China Medical Board, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Lincoln
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Japan House of Councillors, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Keizo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takemi
authors.affiliation: Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Fidler
authors.affiliation: Division of Global Health Protection, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Jordan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Tappero
authors.affiliation: Division of Global Health Protection, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Mathew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Center for Global Health, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Kenyon
authors.affiliation: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Frieden
authors.affiliation: Vitality Institute, New York, NY, USA; World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Ageing, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yach
authors.affiliation: Heartfile, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Sania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishtar
authors.affiliation: International Longevity Centre (ILC) Global Alliance and ILC-Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; New York Academy of Medicine, NY, USA; HelpAge International, London, UK.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kalache
authors.affiliation: UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme on Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Piero L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Olliaro
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Horby
authors.affiliation: Public Health Program, Open Society Foundations, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Els
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Torreele
authors.affiliation: O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Lawrence O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Gostin
authors.affiliation: New Partnership for Africa's Development, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Margareth
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ndomondo-Sigonda
authors.affiliation: Department of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.affiliation: Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, UK; Department of Politics, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rushton
authors.affiliation: Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, UK.
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lillywhite
authors.affiliation: Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, UK; Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Bhimsen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Devkota
authors.affiliation: Centre on Global Health Security, London, UK.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koser
authors.affiliation: Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, UK.
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yates
authors.affiliation: Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA; Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ranu S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Dhillon
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Policy, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Ravi P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Rannan-Eliya
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western / Q000453:epidemiology; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D058872:Epidemics; D014943:Global Health; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000458:organization & administration; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation