03.10 Japan to Provide Additional $22Mln to Fight Ebola

TOKYO, October 3 (RIA Novosti) - Japan will allocate an additional $22 million to fight the deadly Ebola disease, a cabinet meeting has decided on Friday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking at the UN General Assembly in the end of September, announced the allocation of $40 million for this purpose. Assistance will be directed and distributed via the World Health Organization (WHO).

Thus, the total amount of emergency free aid provided by Japan to combat this disease will be $62 million.

The Ebola outbreak that emerged in a small number of West African nations early in 2014 has now claimed approximately 3,300 lives with 7,000 individuals reportedly infected. The outbreak began in southern Guinea in February and has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal.

There is no officially approved medication for the Ebola virus, and experts claim prevention is the only cure. Several countries, including Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan are currently working on vaccines.