The United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon is urging the global community to help raise the $1 billion needed to battle the deadly Ebola virus, which has already killed thousands of people in West Africa.
The United States, United Kingdom, Cuba, France and Venezuela have vowed to contribute about 38 percent of the total funding. Several other countries such as India, Chile, Estonia and Romania have made non-binding pledges to contribute to battling Ebola.
Although some 28 countries and organizations across the world have pledged funding, only $100,000 have been received in the bank.
"I appeal to the international community to provide the $1 billion launch that will enable us to get ahead of the curve and meet our target of reducing the rate of transmission by December 1st," Ki-moon told the press on Oct. 16.
Combating Ebola is at the top of the agenda of the U.N. and the secretary-general has stressed the urgency of raising funds to effectively fight the disease in the hardest hit countries: Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
The latest Ebola outbreak started in February in some Western African countries, and the number of people afflicted and killed by the disease is rising every day. Currently, there are no approved medicines for the cure of the disease and healthcare professionals suggest that there are better chances to recover from the disease only if detected in early stages.
The disease has already resulted in the death of around 4,500 people in the Ebola hit regions. A previous report suggests that if the disease is not controlled, it can affect as many as 1.4 million people by mid-January 2015.
As the disease is spreading at a very high rate, Western African countries are required to increase the number of doctors, treatment centers and equipment to deal with the patients. However, insufficient funding has prevented services from being established fully and quickly enough in severely affected regions.
"We know what's got to be done and together we're going to do it," says Dr. David Nabarro, the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy on Ebola.
Ban Ki-moon also suggested that he is open to other fundraising ideas such as a concert by U2 singer Bono.
