UN: $1bn needed to stop Ebola

The number of Ebola cases in West Africa could start doubling every three weeks, costing nearly $1 billion to contain the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.
The WHO released a report Tuesday that said $987.8 million is needed for health workers, supplies to track people exposes to the virus, body bags, and burial teams. Many of the cases of the virus, spread through bodily fluids, started from ritual burial practices in the region.
According to WHO, there are a reported of 5,000 cases and 2,400 deaths in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, and Senegal since the outbreak began in March. The WHO said figures could rise up to more than 20,000 cases.
The WHO plea comes as health clinics and hospitals in the region are overflowing with Ebola patients, forcing workers to turn away new patients due to limited space, which causes the disease to spread.
China has promised to send a laboratory team of 59 health professionals. Britain plans to build and operate a health clinic in Sierra Leone while Cuba has promised to send more than 160 health workers to the country.
Doctors Without Borders told WHO that even though President Barack Obama will announce the deployment of 3,000 U.S. troops to provide aid in the region more global response is needed to confront the crisis.
“The response to Ebola continues to fall dangerously behind,â€‌ Joanne Liu, the president of the medical agency, said in a meeting at the United Nations in Geneva. “The window of opportunity to contain this outbreak is closing. We need more countries to stand up, we need greater deployment, and we need it now.â€‌