The Ebola crisis has the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the spotlight. Despite consistent reassurances from CDC head Dr. Tom Frieden that he has the right plan in place to combat Ebola, past mistakes by his organization raises serious questions regarding its competency.
A major part of CDC’s problem is a result of its bureaucracy’s drift into areas away from infectious disease. Obesity, gun violence and alcohol are now topics of concern for the CDC.
In “CDC Mission Creep: A Dangerous and Wasteful Distraction,” FreedomWorks’ Josh Withrow wrote an analysis about the degree to which the CDC has strayed from its original mandate.
Any time a new infectious disease arises in the United States or throughout the world, Americans are assured that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is taking measures to prevent an outbreak from turning into an epidemic. Recently, however, the arrival of Ebola patients in United States has appeared to expose major flaws in the CDC’s preparedness.
A deeper examination of the CDC’s focus and activities reveal an agency mired in classic mission creep, constantly nudged off-course by political pressures. Many of the CDC’s uses over the past several decades are dubious enough on their own to recommend a reevaluation of the agency’s reach. Recent events merely reinforce the need for the CDC to refocus on its vital primary mission: the prevention and control of infectious disease epidemics.
Read the report here.
