The head of the World Health Organization has said the pharmaceutical industry is partially to blame for the rapid spread of Ebola. Speaking at a conference in Benin, Margaret Chan said drug companies have shunned efforts to find a cure for Ebola because it impacts impoverished countries unable to afford expensive drugs.

Dr. Margaret Chan: “The research and development incentive is virtually non-existent. A profit-driven industry does not invest in products for markets that cannot pay. WHO has been trying to make this issue visible for ages. Now people can see for themselves.”

Chan also faulted the absence of effective public health systems in the West African countries worst hit by Ebola: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.