Sierra Leonean-born Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Dr Kandeh Yumkella has secured US$ 500,000 towards the fight against the Ebola outbreak in his country.
A press release from the Vienna-based OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) said the organisation approved "an emergency assistance grant of US$500,000 to support the activities of the World Health Organization (WHO) in stopping the spread of the deadly Ebola virus".
The release says the "grant has been extended as a result of discussions between the Director General of OFID, Mr Suleiman J. Al-Herbish and the UN Secretary General, Dr Kandeh Yumkella".
The grant will specifically support the activities of WHO’s Sub-regional Outbreak Coordination Centre (SEOCC) which is based in Conakry with the primary objective of monitoring containment activities in collaboration with the national committees and the teams deployed on the ground.
The grant will further act as a platform to consolidate and harmonize technical support being provided to the three African countries affected by the outbreak: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Alongside national health authorities and WHO, other partner agencies involved in the Ebola response and technical partners in the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, will also work from the Center.
Efforts are currently ongoing to scale up and strengthen all aspects of the response in the three countries, including contact tracking, public information and community mobilization, case management and infection prevention and control, and coordination.
(C) Politico 05/08/14
