In the wake of the world’s worst Ebola epidemic, the World Health Organization has promised to take steps toward reform. In a special session, the WHO executive board convened Sunday to determine how to better organize the agency’s response to worldwide emergencies.

WHO director-general Dr. Margaret Chan acknowledged that the public health agency’s response to the Ebola outbreak was not quick or efficient enough to effectively contain the crisis. The epidemic was a “mega crisis” that “overwhelmed the capacity of WHO,” she said.

One of the resolutions adopted by the executive board entails the creation of an emergency fund specifically set aside to deal with major health crises. The United Kingdom has already announced that it would donate $10 million to the proposed fund, although it remains unclear how the full expense of the fund would be financed. A previous WHO committee recommended in 2011 that such an emergency fund should contain at least $100 million, after the 2009-2010 influenza pandemic.

Another proposed method of increasing the efficacy of WHO’s crisis response is the establishment of a health workers reserve. Although the size of the proposed reserve corps has yet to be determined, WHO officials see the need for a trained body of at least 1,500 health workers immediately available on the front lines of an emergency. “We need to ensure that a clear line of command for all levels of the organisation is in place for emergency operations and we need a global work force ready to be deployed in an effective and timely manner,” said Dr. Dirk Cuypers of Belgium, speaking on behalf of the European Union.

WHO has traditionally asserted that their primary contribution to world health issues lies in providing technical knowledge and guidance, not acting as front line first responders. The Ebola outbreak forced them to rethink this view, after an estimated death toll of more than 8,600 people, primarily in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

Although health officials are optimistic about the changes that could overhaul WHO, the organization’s governing body still needs to review and approve the proposed reforms. The World Health Assembly, composed of the 194 member countries of WHO, will meet in May to make the final decision.

“The WHO we have [now] is not the WHO we need, not the WHO we needed to respond to health emergencies of the magnitude of Ebola,” insisted Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The reform resolution was brought to the board by members from the United States and South Africa.