(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The European Union Tuesday said it is scaling up its response to the Ebola disease in West Africa with an airlift operation to the affected countries.
The EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) will facilitate the transportation of relief items to West Africa. In addition, the EU in a statement said it will fund and coordinate if necessary the evacuation of international staff from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
A quarter of the new four million euro funding will be allocated to UNICEF, enabling three Boeing 747 cargo planes to transport vital material to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
The first plane will take-off on Friday, carrying 100 metric tons of emergency equipment from Amsterdam to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The supplies and equipment include personal protection equipment, including masks and gloves, as well as essential medicines and hygiene supplies.
In addition, the remaining three million euro will help in the setting up of a medical evacuation system, coordinated by the ERCC, that will enable international workers in West Africa diagnosed with Ebola to be evacuated in less than 48 hours by plane to hospitals within Europe that are equipped to deal with the disease.
"We are in a race against time to fight Ebola," said Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Humanitarian aid.
"The European Commission alone has so far pledged some 180 million euro to help the affected countries. Funding is crucial but far from enough," she added.
Tonio Borg, European Commissioner for Health, added: "To strengthen Europe's preparedness to handle Ebola, we have been mobilising solidarity inside the EU. We are working closely so that patients can be treated in an appropriate healthcare facility."
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