The latest Ebola outbreak in West Africa (2014-2015) put an enormous strain on the health systems of the affected countries: the epidemic required rapid and sustained resource mobilization to control the outbreak, which drained resources from routine health care, severely compromising the provision of all other services. Further, high transmission and fatality rates, including among health workers, affected not only the provision but also the uptake of services. All this had negative consequences in terms of increased morbidity and mortality not directly related to Ebola. The experience in West Africa showed that such outbreaks have the potential to cause a collapse of the entire health system and to create long-lasting collateral damages. Therefore, it is crucial to put efforts into strengthening health systems so they are resilient and adaptable enough to enable continued routine health care during future infectious disease outbreaks – be it Ebola or another disease.

ORDER-HC aims to contribute to the strengthening of health systems for future epidemics by identifying and analysing factors that severely compromised their functioning and to develop strategies for resilience and preparedness.