China's Response to the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

Abstract

Beginning in March 2014, West Africa has endured the largest outbreak of Ebola viral disease (EVD) in history. The crisis highlighted the role of China in addressing public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC). Through bilateral and multilateral channels, China kicked off its largest ever humanitarian mission in addressing a PHEIC. The unprecedented generosity served the domestic needs to prevent EVD from spreading into China, but it was also consistent with China's foreign policy objective to pursue soft power in Africa. While its total funding to EVD control in West Africa was no match of top donors like the United States, it becomes much more impressive when adjusted for gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. As Beijing becomes more sensitive to disease outbreaks overseas and as the scope of its humanitarian engagement grows and diversifies, the space for China's cooperation with international actors over global health governance is expected to further expand.

Keywords: China; Ebola; global health governance; global health security; public health emergencies of international concern.

Figure 1

Aid amount/GDP per capita (in 2014 current US$) per capita ratio. Source: Aid data is taken from the financial tracking service (FTS) total funding per donor as of 20 February 2016 (http://fts.unocha.org (table ref: R24)); GDP data is taken from the World Bank, GDP/capita 2011–2015. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD.