U.S. to set up 3,000-strong Ebola force

September 17, 2014 10:17 pm | Updated 10:17 pm IST - Washington

: U.S. President Barack Obama announced a “major increase” in his country’s contribution to the fight against Ebola, a deadly virus that has wreaked havoc in the West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, claiming the lives of 2,400 people in the region.

Even as new cases were recorded in Nigeria and Senegal, Mr. Obama was said to be planning for the deployment of 3,000 military personnel to the affected areas for medical and logistical support.

Speaking at the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the President said that at the request of the Liberian government, his administration would establish a military command centre in that country and create an “air bridge” to get health workers and medical supplies into West Africa faster.

Additionally the U.S. would establish a staging area in Senegal to distribute personnel and aid on the ground more quickly, Mr. Obama added, and there would also be a focus on creating a new training site to train thousands of health workers so they could effectively and safely care for more patients.

Underscoring that the Ebola outbreak had become a “national security priority” for the U.S. in recent months, Mr. Obama added that on Thursday Washington would be chairing an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, and next week, would join U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to “continue mobilising the international community around this effort.”

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