International Response to West African Ebola Outbreak Ramps Up

Bumbasor/iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — President Obama will visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta on Tuesday, where he is expected to share a new plan to help fight the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Obama may push for an increased involvement of U.S. doctors and military members in Africa. He also, “is expected to urge Congress to approve the request he made last week for an additional $88 million to fund his proposal,” according to the Journal.

In a Monday night call with senior administration officials, Obama talked about ramping up the U.S. response to the outbreak by creating a joint force command headquarters in the Liberian capital, providing engineers to help build treatment centers and training West African health care workers.

The U.S. is expected to help build up to 17 facilities and train up to 500 health care workers per week while also helping to bolster a campaign to train residents on how to protect themselves and still help family members who may show symptoms of the disease. After the “scaling up” is complete, more than 3,000 Department of Defense workers will be on the ground supporting efforts against the outbreak.

Obama is also expected to request an additional $88 million in funding. The U.S. has already dedicated $175 million.

The European Union also reaffirmed its efforts against the outbreak on Monday, touting its work to help the West African nations. Meanwhile, the African Union was preparing to send 30 more Ebola specialists to the region.

The latest figures from the World Health Organization latest death toll were released on September 7, showing that over 2,200 of West Africa’s 4,366 Ebola patients have died.


Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

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