INTRODUCTION
Governments, WHO and the United Nations agencies and NGOs have joined forces to scale up international response to the unprecedented outbreak of the Ebola Virus. On 16 September 2014 the United Nations released an Overview of Needs and Requirements guided by the 5 strategic objectives to be implemented within the coming 6-9 months:
Stop the outbreak
Treat the infected
Ensure essential services
Preserve stability
Prevent outbreaks in countries currently unaffected The UN’s Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) is the first-ever UN emergency health Mission, with a strong operations and logistical capability, and dedicated field-based capacity to support private sector engagement. The UN recognizes that since the outbreak, the private sector has already been strongly engaged in the response. As the international community expands its efforts under UNMEER, coordinated engagement of private sector actors with specific operational capabilities, especially with those already present in the affected countries, would significantly augment existing and planned resources currently identified, and act as a multiplier to response efforts on the ground.
