The World Bank Group has pledged $100 million to support the fight against the deadly Ebola disease which has plagued parts of the West African sub-region.
The World Bank Group previously announced that it was mobilizing $400 million for the three countries, hardest hit by the Ebola disease – Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, of which $117 million has already been disbursed.
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim revealed this at a meeting with the Vice President of Ghana Kwesi Amissah-Arthur at the Flagstaff house in Accra on Thursday.
[contextly_sidebar id=”LUqyMUag5ZwH0XShvzk7z0lYGQ4TvvXz”]In recent weeks, West African and global development leaders have appealed for a massive financial support to contain the epidemic.
Current estimates by the United Nations indicate that about 5,000 health personnel are needed in the three countries over the coming months to battle the disease.
According to World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, “the world’s response to the Ebola crisis has increased significantly in recent weeks, but we still have a huge gap in getting enough trained health workers to the areas with the highest infection rates.”
“We must urgently find ways to break any barriers to the deployment of more health workers. It is our hope that this $100 million can help be a catalyst for a rapid surge of health workers to the communities in dire need,” he added.
The World Bank Group’s additional financing will help set up a coordination hub in close cooperation with the three countries; the World Health Organization (WHO); the United Nations’ main Ebola coordination body in Ghana; and other agencies to recruit, train and deploy qualified foreign health workers.
This support—coordinated closely with the United Nations and other international and country partners—will assist the affected countries in treating the sick, providing essential food and water to Ebola-affected households, coping with the economic and social impact of the crisis, and starting to improve their public health systems to build up resilience and preparedness for potential future outbreaks.
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By: Kojo Agyeman & Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana