Ebola outbreak: World Bank to allocate $200 million in emergency assistance

The World Bank is to allocate $200 million in emergency assistance for West African countries battling to contain the Ebola outbreak.

The money will be distributed to the governments of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea as well as to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The number of people killed in the outbreak has reached 887, the WHO says.

The World Bank’s announcement came as African leaders including 35 presidents discuss the crisis in Washington.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim – an expert on infectious diseases – said that he was “deeply saddened” by the spread of the virus and how it was contributing to the breakdown of “already weak health systems in the three countries”.

“I am very worried that many more lives are at risk unless we can stop this Ebola epidemic in its tracks,” he said.

The World Bank will allocate $200 million in emergency assistance for West African countries battling to contain the Ebola outbreak

In the short term, the money will be used to pay health workers, dispel rumors about the disease in local communities and address the immediate needs of getting sick people into health facilities.

Over the long term, the funds will be used to help countries deal with the economic impact of the outbreak and to monitor the spread of the disease.

The package is now awaiting approval by the World Bank’s Board of Directors, though officials say the confirmation could come as early as this week.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) say preliminary research suggests the epidemic is likely to shave one percentage point from Guinea’s economic output this year.

In other developments:

  • Nigeria has recorded its second Ebola case – one of the doctors who treated a man who died from the virus after his arrival from Liberia
  • Liberia has ordered that the bodies of people killed by the Ebola virus must be cremated following the refusal of some communities to allow the burial of victims on their land.

The Ebola virus spreads by contact with infected blood and bodily fluids.

Touching the body of someone who has died of Ebola is particularly dangerous.

The evacuation of the second US health worker to become infected in Liberia, nurse Nancy Writebol, is expected later.

Nancy Writebol will be flown to Atlanta in the US to a special isolation ward at Emory University Hospital, where Dr. Kent Brantly, who arrived from Liberia on Saturday, is being treated by infectious disease specialists.

z4Wz5pOmvVw
Kathryn R. Bown

Kathryn - Our health specialist likes to share with the readers the latest news from the field. Nobody understands better than her the relation between healthy mind and healthy body.

Recent Posts

Deadly Tornadoes Hit Oklahoma Leaving Thousands Without Power and Causing Serious Damage

At least five people, including a four-month-old baby, have been killed after dozens of tornadoes…

2 days ago

Harvey Weinstein in Hospital After Conviction Overturned

Harvey Weinstein has been hospitalized just days after his 2020 rape conviction in New York…

4 days ago

Hamas Releases Video of Two Hostages, Including a Kidnapped US Citizen

Hamas has published a video showing the first proof of life of US and Israeli…

4 days ago

Trump Trial: Prosecutors and Attorneys Deliver Opening Statements

Prosecutors and Donald Trump’s attorneys delivered opening statements and the first witness was called on…

1 week ago

House Passes $95 Billion Package to Provide Aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan

The House of Representatives has finally approved $61 billion in new US military aid for…

1 week ago

The Current Real Estate Landscape in the United States

The real estate market in the United States has always been a gauge for economic…

2 weeks ago