New money added to emergency response to Ebola outbreak

More money has been announced to help the emergency response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The Gates Foundation is committing $50m to help step up efforts to tackle the deadly virus in the affected countries.

This comes on top of other funds announced by the UK and US governments, as well as the European Union.

But some aid charities say that the most urgent need in Africa is for expert teams in bio-hazard containment.

The Gates Foundation - set up by the Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda - says it will immediately release "flexible funds" to United Nations agencies and other organisations involved in the work against Ebola, so they can buy badly needed supplies.

And it says it will work with partners to speed up the development of drugs and vaccines against the virus, which has claimed almost 2,300 lives so far.

Nearly half of the deaths have been in Liberia. The country's defence minister has said it is facing a threat to its national existence.

And Sierra Leone's finance minister said the Ebola crisis had devastated the economy.

The CEO of the Gates Foundation, Sue Desmond-Hellmann, said: "We are working urgently with our partners to identify the most effective ways to help them save lives now.

"We also want to accelerate the development of treatments, vaccines and diagnostics that can help end this epidemic and prevent future outbreaks." He added. 

I hope that money reaches Nigeria.