Getting pandemic prevention right

The voices of the countries most affected by Ebola have not been at the forefront of the numerous global commissions convened to review the crisis. The history of the HIV pandemic suggests that nuances of managing such a response need to come from those who managed the response and were most affected by it. One review suggests that the global response to Ebola remains inadequate. This Correspondence is a regional perspective from west Africa, the community most affected by the Ebola epidemic and by infectious-disease outbreaks in general. Systematic inclusion of the perspective of the most affected people in these epidemics will contribute to the overall success of health-related security efforts worldwide.