PARIS: European Commission will pledge approximately €450 million to support the recovery of the three countries most affected by Ebola – Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. This will be announced by Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid & Crisis Management and EU Ebola coordinator, Christos Stylianides, at the International Ebola Recovery Conference taking place in New York and organised by the United Nations.
Sierra Leone will receive €171.4 million, Liberia €121 million and Guinea €148.9 million. Another €8 million will be given to all countries affected by Ebola for multi-country projects. The support will help the countries’ long term recovery, and will be spent on programmes in the area of healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, education, sanitation, macro-economic stability and transport. This new funding brings the European Commission’s total support towards fighting the Ebola epidemic to €869 million, of which €660 million are development funds in support of the three affected countries’ recovery plans[1].
Announcing the funding, Commissioner Christos Stylianides said: “The emergency is not over until we are down to zero Ebola cases. With some new cases in Liberia we remain on high alert and our determination to eradicate Ebola is stronger than ever. Now is not the time to pull back. ”
Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica said: “It’s important to remember that this Ebola epidemic has not just had an impact on the healthcare of the countries affected, it’s also crippled their economies, kept children out of school and brought trade to a standstill. That’s why our funding will support countries in a wide range of areas, to help them better deal with the multiple challenges that arise from this crisis. We stand firmly side by side with the people of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, over the long term.”
