The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was unlike anything the world had faced, so it demanded an approach that went beyond the “traditional insular ways” of the United Nations, according to the man who coordinated the U.N. response, Tony Banbury.
Banbury, now the chief philanthropy officer at Vulcan Inc. in Seattle, remembered how he slashed red tape and broke the norms of interagency process.
"I had no concern whatsoever about dividing lines. It was just like, ‘We need smart people around the table figuring this out,’” he said Tuesday at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. His team “grew exponentially, just like Ebola.”
Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
