UN chief: Nobody is contributing towards my £620m Ebola trust fund

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon has called for more financial support from the international community for the struggle against killer disease Ebola in west Africa, after it emerged that a trust fund he set up has received only £62,000. The fund, which is part of a £620 million UN appeal for humanitarian needs in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, is intended to provide fast and flexible funding for the medical response. Prime Minister David Cameron, who yesterday chaired a meeting of the Government’s Cobra contingencies committee on the outbreak, will use an EU summit in Brussels next week to push for more funding and assistance for the poverty-stricken countries which are struggling to contain outbreaks.

We need urgent global response.

Ban Ki-Moon

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama said on Thursday he is considering appointing an Ebola “czar” as the lead U.S. coordinator in the effort to contain the virus, and that he remains opposed to a ban on travel from West Africa. Obama met with aides who are involved in the Ebola fight and spoke to reporters afterward. He said “it may be appropriate” at some stage to put one person in charge of the effort. Some lawmakers have been urging him to take this step.

Politics ebola