EU calls for 5,000 doctors to fight Ebola
"The situation is too serious and it needs an immediate
response," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP,
adding that senior EU officials were in contact with national governments to
mobilise the response.
"Thousands of other medical caregivers were also being
called for," the source said.
In a tweet, EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said
he had so far reached 14 EU ministers, urging them to send more medical staff
to Ebola-hit countries.
"Positive responses," he added, without providing
more details.
The source said the EU's Ebola coordinator, Christos
Stylianides, was also reaching out to ministers, with more funds and logistic
materials on the list of demands.
European officials were casting a wide net, asking for both
medical staff directly from national authorities as well as volunteers
operating through charities.
Earlier this month, Andriukaitis and Stylianides took part
in a joint trip to the three worst hit West African countries: Sierra Leone , Liberia
and Guinea .
Upon their return, the officials made an immediate call for
epidemiologists to do more to diagnose and track the disease's progression.
The EU as a whole has so far mobilised more than one billion
euros ($1.3 billion) for the fight against Ebola, including 373 million euros
from the Commission, the EU's executive arm in Brussels .
Ebola has killed nearly 5,500 people and infected 15,351, mainly
in west Africa, according to the latest figures from the World Health
Organization.
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