[ 2014-09-18 ]

Ebola-hit countries face collapse UN
Geneva, (dpa/GNA) - West African countries at the
centre of the Ebola epidemic could collapse as the
crisis now affects all areas of life there, the UN
warned Tuesday ahead of an announcement by
President Barack Obama to step up the US response
to combat the outbreak.

"It's clear that if not dealt with effectively
now, Ebola could become a major humanitarian
crisis in countries currently affected," UN
emergency aid chief Valerie Amos said in Geneva.

"Now, their capacities to deliver the necessities
of daily life to their people is on the brink of
collapse," she said.

Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone are at the centre
of the worst Ebola outbreak on record. The World
Health Organization has put the toll at more than
2,400, while the number of people infected has
risen to nearly 5,000.

UN Ebola coordinator David Nabarro said fighting
the haemorrhagic fever epidemic and helping the
affected countries cope would cost about 1 million
dollars, of which less than a third had been
secured from international donors.

Amos said the priority was to prevent health
systems from breaking down, and the UN Security
Council is to hold an emergency meeting on the
Ebola outbreak Thursday.

Obama, who is travelling to the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, is to
to announce that the US will send thousands of
troops to build clinics and train hundreds of
healthcare workers.

US military engineers will coordinate with local
governments to build 17 clinics with 100 beds each
to care for Ebola patients as there is an acute
shortage of facilities in Liberia, Guinea and
Sierra Leone, senior administration officials told
reporters ahead of Obama's trip.

The US will also train up to 500 healthcare
workers a week for at least six months in how to
respond to the epidemic, and will distribute
thousands of home healthcare kits to educate the
public about Ebola and provide disinfectant,
sanitizer and medication, the officials said.

The Defence Department's Africa Command will
establish a joint command in Monrovia, Liberia, to
oversee US and international efforts and is to
devote some 3,000 troops to the aid effort,
officials said.

Obama is to seek additional funds from Congress,
and the Defence Department plans to reallocate
some 500 million dollars to fund much of the Ebola
fighting operations.

Source - GNA

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