International community enhances anti-Ebola aid to Africa

Countries and international organizations have reinforced efforts against the deadly Ebola virus, which has so far killed nearly 5,000 people, most of whom in West Africa.
The Chinese military has joined efforts to help African countries fight Ebola, Yang Yujun, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said Thursday.
"As arranged by the government, the Chinese military is playing an active role in aiding West African countries in the fight against Ebola," he told a monthly press briefing.
Yang said a 30-strong medical team from a military hospital arrived in Sierra Leone in mid-September and they are still working there.
He mentioned China's decision to build a 100-bed treatment center in Liberia, where the epidemic is most serious. The military is helping in that mission and construction of the center is in progress.
In addition to the ongoing mission of collecting and transporting relief materials, the military will also send experienced medical experts, doctors and nurses to treat patients and train local health workers, said the spokesman.
"The Chinese military will continue to provide support and assistance as much as it can for West African countries to fight Ebola," Yang added.
Last week, China pledged a new batch of aid worth 82 million U.S. dollars to help West Africa fight the Ebola outbreak, bringing total Chinese aid to the region for the deadly disease to 122 million dollars.
Yang's remarks came one day after Chinese medical supplies and equipment arrived in the Ghanaian capital of Accra.
The materials include protective clothing, protective goggles, sprayers, gauze masks, body thermometers and temperature monitors.
Other countries to benefit from the relief are Mali, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria.
The materials are expected to reach the capitals of the countries before the end of this month.
Meanwhile, other countries and international organization have also actively taken measures to contain the disease, which has left a total of 4,922 people dead and more than 13,000 confirmed infection cases, mostly in the three hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
The World Bank on Thursday announced an additional 100 million dollars of funding in response to the Ebola crisis, so as to speed up deployment of foreign health workers to the three worst-affected countries.
Current estimates by the United Nations indicate that about 5,000 international medical, training and support personnel are needed in the three countries over the coming months to respond to the Ebola outbreak, including 700 to 1,000 foreign health workers to treat patients in the Ebola treatment centers, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing.
"The World Bank's additional financing will help set up a coordination hub in close cooperation with the three countries, the World Health Organization and the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response to recruit, train and deploy qualified foreign health workers," said the spokesman.
The Japanese government has also donated seven ambulances as additional support to the fight against the Ebola virus in Liberia.
The seven ambulances arrived in Liberia on Thursday on board a chartered cargo flight.
The arrival of the ambulances followed an earlier donation of assorted medical items by the Japanese government, which is also donating six ambulances to Sierra Leone.
In New York, one of the largest points of entry to the United States, local authorities said they will create a program of financial incentives and other employment protections to encourage health care professionals to travel to West Africa and provide assistance.
"We believe that public health in West Africa and the public health in New York are interconnected and both must be addressed," New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
"The depth of the challenge we face in containing Ebola requires us to meet this test in a comprehensive manner on multiple fronts, and part of that is encouraging and incentivizing medical personnel to go to West Africa," he said.