The United States announced September 9th that it will support the African Union’s (AU) urgent deployment of trained and equipped medical workers to West Africa—the single largest injection of critical personnel to the region—to help combat the Ebola outbreak. With this contribution of up-to $10 million, the United States has spent more than $100 million responding to the Ebola outbreak. This funding complements USAID’s announcement last week of plans to make available up to $75 million in additional funding.
The United States is committed to working with the international community to help bring this outbreak under control as soon as possible, and welcomes the AU’s leadership to mobilize the African response to the crisis. This funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S. Department of State will be used to transport approximately 100 health workers to Liberia, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
This includes 25 doctors, 45 nurses and other essential personnel to manage and run Ebola treatment units (ETUs) that isolate and treat those affected by the disease, helping minimize the spread of Ebola.
“The U.S. is committed to supporting the African Union's response to the urgent needs across West Africa as a result of this vicious disease. We can and will stop this epidemic, but it will take a coordinated effort by the entire global community,” said USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah.
The UN World Health Organization and non-governmental organizations working on the ground in the region continue to emphasize the need for well-trained health care workers to respond to the Ebola outbreak, which is the largest and most devastating in history. Critical care workers—nurses, doctors, and physicians assistants—can join this historic response by registering at www.usaid.gov/ebola.
This U.S. contribution will be used to transport and sustain the AU medical workers deployed across West Africa, in addition to providing them with the emergency supplies and health equipment needed to respond. USAID is also concurrently providing resources for 1,000 new beds, 130,000 sets of personal protective equipment, and 50,000 hygiene kits.
A global, coordinated effort is required to combat the outbreak. The United States remains committed to working intensively with the African Union, the governments of West Africa, and the international community to stop the Ebola outbreak and save lives.
