Ebola: EU members urged to step up response

The European Union Monday called on member states to step up support for pressing needs such as effective treatment centres and sufficient numbers of health workers in response to the Ebola virus disease epidemic.

"The EU is gravely concerned by the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, where the situation continues to deteriorate," said the statement, noting the EU had so far pledged almost 150 million euros (about $194 million) to help the affected countries.

Noting that the EU agreed on the crucial importance of reliable systems of medical evacuation for humanitarian staff and medical workers, the statement said: "We agreed to launch work without delay on developing a European co-ordination mechanism for medical evacuations."

The statement also briefed that EU mobile laboratories are deployed in the region to help with the diagnostics and confirmation of cases and train laboratory technicians.

Furthermore, Liberia and Sierra Leone will receive financial assistance through budgetary support to help them deliver healthcare services and bolster macro-economic stability in response to the wider economic challenges arising from the crisis.

The three commissioners discussed with EU ministers how to coordinate further steps in a Europe-wide response to the epidemic at a high level event earlier Monday.

The latest death toll from Ebola outbreak released Friday by the World Health Organization indicated that over 2,400 people had died out of 4,784 confirmed cases.