With multiple epidemics, a growing displaced population and climate change, is it time to take preparedness more seriously? Join the live Q&A on 14 August, 1-3pm BST

Ebola, dengue and cholera: how can we contain epidemics earlier?

The Ebola epidemic that is still spreading across west Africa was recently labelled an international health emergency by the World Health Organisation. The first cases of Ebola were diagnosed in Guinea six months earlier though. Could the outbreak have been contained much sooner?

While there is no cure for Ebola, professor Peter Piot, who co-discovered the disease in 1976, says experimental drugs could have more widely used.

"African governments should be allowed to make informed decisions about whether or not to use these products - for example to protect and treat healthcare workers who run especially high risks of infection."

But Ebola is just one disease for which the global health community has seemed ill-prepared. Recent Cholera outbreaks in Cameroon and Haiti, as well as the constant threat of diseases in refugee camps from Jordan to Burma reflect the multiple pressures on limited resources on manpower. It would seem that epidemics are taking humanitarian response to the brink.

So what should governments, humanitarians and health workers do?

When previous epidemics such as the Sars virus and bird flu were declared international health emergencies, many governments were criticised for overreacting or underreacting. What lessons can we learn from then about how to manage disease outbreaks today? How can resillience go from being a buzzword to a practical reality? And how do we challenge existing systems and structures that aren't working?

Join our expert panel on Thursday, 14 August, from 1-3pm BST, to discuss how we can build resillience in humanitarian response.

The panel

Ruwan Ratnayake, epidemiologist and technical advisor, International Rescue Committee (IRC), New York, USA, @RuwanEPI

Ruwan advises and works on outbreak control, surveillance, research and evaluation in fragile settings.

Pamela Steele, director and principal consultant, Pamela Steele Associates Ltd, Oxford, UK

Pamela focuses on humanitarian and health supply chain systems strengthening in developing countries.

Lisa Denney, research fellow, Overseas Development Institute, London, UK.

Lisa leads the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium's Sierra Leone country programme, looking at capacity of the health sector.

Carol Dunn, risk communication specialist, 2resilience, Seattle, USA, @caroldn

Carol focuses on the intersection of disaster risk reduction efforts and current findings in behavioral neurology.

Adam Ritchie, science and public policy lecturer, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, @adamjohnritchie

Adam is an immunologist who has worked on HIV in Africa. He also works on scientific education and capacity building.

Kweku Ackom, health advisor, International Medical Corps UK, London, UK, @kweku2007

Kweku is the HIV and other infectious diseases focal person for IMC and leads the Ebola response technical group.

Genevieve Hutchinson, health advisor, BBC Media Action, London, UK, @genevieveh77

Genevieve supports the planning and implementation of media and communication projects addressing key health issues in Africa and Asia.

Stella Anyangwe, global health expert and consultant, Pretoria, South Africa, @SAnyangwe

Retired WHO country representative and African regional adviser for disaster preparedness. Health lecturer at the University of Pretoria.

The live chat is not video or audio-enabled but will take place in the comments section (below). Get in touch via globaldevpros@theguardian.com or @GuardianGDP on Twitter to recommend someone for our expert panel. Follow the discussion using the hashtag #globaldevlive.