THE World Health Organisation (WHO) alleged on Monday that governments had ignored their obligations during the Ebola crisis.

It said that it wanted more power to tackle emergencies in future.

Based in Geneva, the UN health organisation has been heavily criticised for its slow response to the Ebola epidemic, which has killed more than 8,000 people in over 21,000 cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

The WHO promised in October to publish a full review of its handling of the outbreak once it was under control, but has not yet done so.

Documents submitted to its international executive board on Monday attempted to shift the blame.

They said that governments had put international health regulations covering public health risks and disease outbreaks in peril through actions such as closing borders and discriminating against travellers from Ebola-affected countries.

A “sizeable number” of states did not yet have minimum standards in core areas such as surveillance, preparedness and risk communication, the WHO claimed.

Disease outbreaks, war in Syria, drought in the Horn of Africa and a typhoon in the Philippines had all exposed problems, it insisted.

“In each case, the response lacked the speed, co-ordination, clear lines of decision making and dedicated funding needed to optimise implementation, reduce suffering and save lives.”

The WHO said it was structured to deal with technical issues and public health recommendations but ill-equipped to take action in an emergency, as it is increasingly expected to do.