UN Needs Additional $1Bln to Fight Ebola Epidemic

The UN has already received about $1 billion or two-thirds of the sum previously requested. However, the same amount needs to be transferred to the WHO, UNICEF and the World Food Programme to put an end to the Ebola epidemic.

MOSCOW, January 21 (Sputnik) — The United Nations requires an additional $1 billion to tackle the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, UN Special Envoy on Ebola David Nabarro said Wednesday.

The announcement was made during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

As of January 2015, the UN has already received about $1 billion or two-thirds of the sum previously requested. However, the same amount needs to be transferred to the UN's World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the World Food Programme to put an end to the epidemic, Nabarro said at a briefing.

The UN Ebola chief also stated that currently the rate of the infection had reduced in Ebola-hit West African states.

"We have a very attractive and promising situation that leads us to believe that we're beginning to see the end of the outbreak," Nabarro said.

The current Ebola outbreak started in southern Guinea at the end of 2013 and later spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Senegal, with several Ebola cases having been reported in the United States and Europe.

According to the latest WHO data, there have been about 8,500 reported Ebola-related deaths in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

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