The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was a public health emergency of new proportions that presented unprecedented challenges for the international community. Aside from the significant social and economic impact it had on many West African countries, the epidemic also triggered a range of innovative, flexible partnership responses from businesses and civil society that complemented the channels of official assistance to affected countries.

Overall, the global response to the Ebola crisis contains both successes and struggles. In any case, the range of strategic lessons learned from the outbreak provides critical insights that can be applied the next time the world faces such an epidemic.

Developed in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Managing the Risk and Impact of Future Epidemics: Options for Public-Private Cooperation aims to understand the value of private-sector engagement in the Ebola response and capture the lessons learned in the wide scope of partnerships and innovations that occurred, particularly within the business community.

Through such a multidimensional review, a wide set of options has been drawn up from the lessons learned, helping to develop potential models for public-private cooperation to manage future outbreaks more effectively and to reduce the risk of their occurrence altogether.

The report aims to start a dialogue between the private sector, the international community and the leaders who will form collaborations.

Additional appendix material: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Ebola_Appendix.pdf

Report by the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG)