Organizations from around the world responded to the West African Ebola virus epidemic. In July 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened an emergency meeting with health ministers from eleven countries and announced collaboration on a strategy to co-ordinate technical support to combat the epidemic. In August, they declared the outbreak an international public health emergency and published a roadmap to guide and coordinate the international response to the outbreak, aiming to stop ongoing Ebola transmission worldwide within six to nine months. In September 2014, the United Nations Security Council declared the Ebola virus outbreak in the West Africa subregion a "threat to international peace and security" and unanimously adopted a resolution urging UN member states to provide more resources to fight the outbreak; the WHO stated that the cost for combating the epidemic will be a minimum of $1 billion.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the World Bank Group pledged aid money and the World Food Programme announced plans to mobilize food assistance for an estimated 1 million people living in restricted access areas. Several non-governmental organizations provided assistance in the efforts to control the spread of the disease. The humanitarian aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) helped lead the global response to the crisis, maintaining several treatment centers in the area. Samaritan's Purse also provided direct patient care and medical support in Liberia; many nations and charitable organizations, foundations, and individuals also pledged assistance to control the epidemic.

The United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) was tasked with the overall planning and coordination of the response, directing the efforts of the UN agencies, national governments, and other humanitarian actors to the areas where they are most needed.

Calling Ebola healthcare workers "the ones who answered the call," in December 2014 the editors of Time magazine named the Ebola health workers as Person of the Year. Editor Nancy Gibbs said, "The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight. For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are Time's 2014 Person of the Year." Both Médecins Sans Frontières and Samaritan's Purse were singled out as organisations that responded very early in the epidemic with especially dedicated workers who had worked alongside local caregivers.

United Nations

UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response

On 18 September 2014, the United Nations Security Council declared the Ebola virus outbreak in the West Africa subregion a "threat to international peace and security". The Security Council unanimously adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution 2177, which urged UN member states to provide more resources to fight the outbreak. The resolution was the first in the history of the Security Council to deal with a public health crisis. It was sponsored by 131 countries, which – according to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power – makes it the most broadly supported of the 2,176 Security Council resolutions since 1945. Therefore, the UN Security Council has created the first ever UN mission for a public health emergency, the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), with the primary task of coordinating the UN agencies' vast resources to combat the epidemic under the leadership of the WHO. Dr. David Nabarro, the UN Secretary General's Senior Coordinator said that "This unprecedented outbreak requires an unprecedented response. The number of cases have doubled in these countries in the last three weeks. To get in front of this, the response must be increased 20-fold from where it is today."

UNMEER has been tasked to coordinate all relevant United Nations actors in order to ensure a rapid, effective, efficient and coherent response to the Ebola crisis. UNMEER's objective is to work with others to stop the Ebola outbreak. UNMEER will work closely with governments, regional and international actors, such as the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and with UN Member States, the private sector and civil society. Accra, in Ghana, will serve as a base for UNMEER, with teams in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. A United Nations General Assembly document, the Report of the Secretary-General on UNMEER and the Office of the Special Envoy on Ebola (A/69/404), issued on 24 September 2014, details UNMEER's proposed mission, budget, and structure.

World Health Organization

In July 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened an emergency sub-regional meeting with health ministers from eleven countries in Accra, Ghana to tackle the ongoing Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa. On 3 July, the West African states announced collaboration on a new strategy, and the creation of a WHO sub-regional centre in Guinea "to co-ordinate technical support"; the centre was inaugurated in Conakry on 24 July.

The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Luis Sambo, visited the affected countries from 21 to 25 July, meeting with political leaders, ministers of health, NGOs, and other agencies. He stressed the need to "promote behavioural change while respecting cultural practices." On 24 July, WHO's Director General met with agencies and donors in Geneva to facilitate an increase in funding and manpower to respond to the outbreak. On 31 July, the WHO and West Africa nations announced a requirement for $100 million in aid to help contain the disease.

WHO declared the outbreak an international public health emergency on 8 August, after a two-day teleconference of experts. On 11 August, they emphasised lack of supplies and capacity as one of the problems, while local awareness of the disease had increased. Revised guidelines on how to prevent the spread of the disease were released, updating guidelines from 2008.

On 28 August, the WHO published a roadmap to guide and coordinate the international response to the outbreak, aiming to stop ongoing Ebola transmission worldwide within 6–9 months. It simultaneously revised its cost estimate for the global resources required over the next six months up to $490 million. They report that they "are on the ground establishing Ebola treatment centres and strengthening capacity for laboratory testing, contact tracing, social mobilization, safe burials, and non-Ebola health care" and "continue to monitor for reports of rumoured or suspected cases from countries around the world." Other than cases where individuals are suspected or have been confirmed of being infected with Ebola, or have had contact with cases of Ebola, the WHO does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions.

On 16 September, the WHO Assistant Director General, Bruce Aylward, announced that the cost for combating the epidemic will be a minimum of $1 billion. "We don't know where the numbers are going on this," according to Aylward. There has been heavy criticism of WHO from some aid agencies because its response was perceived as slow and insufficient, especially during the early stage of the outbreak.

WHO Roadmap

The following are the key headings from the WHO roadmap for the international response to the epidemic, published on 28 August.

UNMEER Program During October, WHO and UNMEER announced a comprehensive 90-day plan to control and reverse the epidemic of EVD. The immediate objective is to isolate at least 70% of EVD cases and safely bury at least 70% of patients who die from EVD by 1 December 2014 (the 60-day target) - this has become known as the 70:70:60 program. The ultimate goal is to have capacity in place for the isolation of 100% of EVD cases and the safe burial of 100% of casualties by 1 January 2015 (the 90-day target). Many nations and charitable organizations are cooperating to realise this plan. A WHO situation report in mid-December indicated that the international community was on track to meet the 90-day target.

World Food Programme On 18 August, the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations announced plans to mobilize food assistance for an estimated 1 million people living in restricted access areas. In an 18 September WHO Ebola Response Roadmap Situation Report it was reported that as of that date the WFP have delivered an estimated 3,000 metric tonnes of food to the worst affected areas, enough to feed 147,500 people. They have also assisted in the transportation of 400 cubic meters of medical cargo. The WFP-led Logistics Cluster provides free logistics services, such as storage, transport, coordination and information management, to WHO and other health and humanitarian actors. WFP has launched a regional emergency operation to reach 1.3 million people in health centres and quarantine areas. WFP provides food and logistical assistance alongside national governments, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners to support the treatment of Ebola patients and mitigate the risk of the virus moving into new areas. The three pillars of WFP support in the Ebola crisis are to deliver food alongside the health response, ensure the movement of partner staff and equipment, and provide logistical services and infrastructure support for health partners.

Food and Agriculture Organization

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has launched a $30 million campaign to help stop the spread of the disease, meet immediate and long-term food and nutrition security needs and build resilience. In addition, it is training its network of field agents and extension staff to understand to how stop the spread of the disease by simple measures of control and hygiene, and to promulgate this knowledge in their communities. The FAO-led social mobilization campaign is expected to reach 9,000 households in Guinea; similar campaigns will follow in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

UNICEF

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has a $200 million program to respond to the Ebola outbreak - part of the $1 billion total UN program. Of this, $65 million will go to UNICEF's programmes in Liberia, $61 million to Sierra Leone and $55 million to Guinea. An additional $10 million will help neighbouring countries be prepared for a potential spread of the disease within their borders, with the remaining $9 million required for regional coordination efforts. UNICEF estimates that 8.5 million children and young people under the age of 20 live in areas affected by Ebola in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Of these, 2.5 million are under the age of five. The program's immediate focus is to help contain the spread of the disease and address communities immediate needs.

UNICEF is one of the largest agencies providing essential supplies for use in treatment and care centres and for continuity of basic services. By 8 October, more than 900 metric tonnes of supplies were delivered to the region in support of partners, through a total of 73 flights.

International organizations

African Development Bank The African Development Bank has contributed over $220 million.

African Union In October, the African Union appealed for its members to send health-care workers to the three West African countries. On October 28, it was announced that they had received substantial pledges; among others, the East African Community has promised 600 personnel, Ethiopia 210, and Congo 200. In total it is hoped that Africa's contribution will reach 2,000 personnel, of whom one-sixth are currently ready for deployment.

Economic Community of West African States