WHO: Ebola vaccine shows ‘promising’ results

Preliminary results of tests on an Ebola vaccine to be published later Friday in British science magazine The Lancet have shown "promising" results, World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan said.

"Early results of the vaccine are exciting and promising," Chan said, adding: "If they are confirmed it will change the management of the Ebola outbreak."

More than 11,200 people have died in an Ebola outbreak in West Africa that began in late 2013 in Guinea -- the worst on record.

WHO: reform after fumbling Ebola response

Chan says the agency is working to reform itself in the wake of its bungled response to last year's Ebola outbreak.

Chan said new protocols were being developed for how the agency functions during health emergencies. The agency has previously proposed creating a specialized center within WHO to handle emergencies that would be self-managed.

Charles Clift, a public health expert at the London policy institute Chatham House, was unsure if adding more layers of bureaucracy might help.

Despite WHO's vows to hold itself accountable, Clift was unconvinced, citing the panel it commissioned to assess its response.

The panel's report last month failed to identify a single person or even department at WHO that was responsible for the agency's bungled efforts.

(With AP and AFP)