African Union Pledges $1 Million To Fight Ebola

The African Union has added to global efforts to contain and eradicate the Ebola virus disease with a pledge of one million US dollars. Speaking to Channels Television’s correspondent in South Africa, Betty Dibiah, the AU commission chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said the fund is basically expected to fill the urgent needs of the countries affected by the disease which has killed more than a thousand people in West Africa. As of August 11, the World Health Organization has recorded a total of 1,975 cases of confirmed, probable and suspected Ebola, including 1,069 deaths in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

 Nigeria’s Federal Government had confirmed the death of another nurse who had primary contact with the late American- Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, on Thursday. A statement issued by the Minister of Health, Prof.Chukwu Onyebuchi, in Abuja on Thursday, noted that the nurse is the fourth person to have died of the Ebola Virus Disease in the country. He also said that the number of confirmed cases of persons with the Ebola Virus Disease is ten and not eleven as earlier reported. Chukwu noted that she was one of the health workers that had primary contact with Mr Sawyer . He said, “The fourth death recorded today was a Nigerian nurse who participated in the initial management of the index case. We have now recorded 10 confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease. Out of these, four have died and eight are currently under treatment.” The minister also apologised for the error in the number of confirmed cases given to journalists at a press briefing organised by the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja earlier in the day. Chukwu noted, “It is important to note that the number of confirmed cases remains 10 as at today and not 11 as earlier announced this morning. We regret the error which arose from double counting in the process of communicating the additional death from the operational centre in Lagos to the Federal Ministry of Health.”