Nearly US$1 billion is needed to fight the Ebola outbreak raging in west Africa, the UN said yesterday, more than doubling the estimate it made less than a month ago.
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos told reporters in Geneva there was a “huge funding challenge,” warning that “if not dealt with effectively now, Ebola could become a major humanitarian crisis in countries currently affected.”
The response to the crisis will require US$987.8 million, with about half needed for the worst-hit country, Liberia, the UN said in its response plan.
Photo: EPA
The UN announcement came as the death toll from the worst-ever Ebola epidemic rose to 2,461, out of 4,985 cases in the three west African countries that have borne the brunt of the disease, according to fresh figures from the WHO.
The UN document estimates that about 20,000 people could be infected with Ebola by the end of the year, with Guinea accounting for 16 percent of infections, Sierra Leone 34 percent and Liberia a full 40 percent.
If the international community and affected countries respond swiftly and energetically, transmission should begin to slow by the end of the year and end by the middle of next year, the document said.
“This health crisis we face is unparalleled in modern times,” WHO Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward said.
“We don’t know where the numbers are going,” Aylward said, noting that two weeks ago when the WHO said it needed the capacity to manage 20,000 cases, “that seemed like a lot.”
“That does not seem like a lot today,” Aylward said.
The UN announcement came as the US announced that it would send 3,000 troops to help tackle the Ebola outbreak as part of a ramped-up plan, including a major deployment in Liberia.
The US response to the crisis was to be formally unveiled later in the day by US President Barack Obama. It includes plans to build 17 treatment centers, train thousands of healthcare workers and establish a military control center for coordination, US officials told reporters.
The WHO has said it needs foreign medical teams with 500 to 600 experts as well as at least 10,000 local health workers. The figures could rise if the number of cases increases, as is widely expected.
Medecins Sans Frontieres, the charity that has been leading the fight against Ebola, said it was overwhelmed and repeated its call for an immediate and massive deployment.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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