Health
EU to Increase Ebola Aid to West Africa to $1.3 Billion
A healthcare worker walks near a Ebola isolation unit wearing protective gear against the virus at Kenema Government Hospital, in Kenema that is in the Eastern Province around 300km, (186 miles), from the capital city of Freetown in Kenema, Sierra Leone, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014. (AP Photo/ Michael Duff)
(Bloomberg) – The European Union increased its aid pledge to fight Ebola in West Africa to 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) as Mali became the sixth country in the region to report a case of the deadly disease.
EU President Herman Van Rompuy announced the boost in financial help today after the 28-nation bloc’s leaders held what he called an “intense discussion” about Europe’s response to the outbreak at a meeting in Brussels. The leaders named an Ebola coordinator for the EU, picking Christos Stylianides, the incoming European Commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management.
“The scale of the epidemic is a threat not only to the economy and the stability of the affected countries, but also to the region as a whole,” the EU leaders said in a joint statement after the two-day meeting. The heads of state and government called for a package of measures to address “the wider political, security and economic implications of the Ebola crisis in West Africa.”
