Japan to extend $22m to combat Ebola virus

 Japan will extend emergency grant aid of USD 22 million in response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West African countries, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
The aid will be provided through the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other international organizations, the ministry said.
The funds are part of USD 40 million in additional aid that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged at a UN General Assembly session on Sept. 25.
The Ebola virus disease, which was initially reported in Guinea in March, has spread to neighboring countries.
According to the ministry, 7,177 infected persons had been confirmed as of Sept. 28 in the West African region of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria, and the disease is spreading so rapidly that further immediate countermeasures are required.