The European Union (EU) has pledged 61 million euros ($75 million) as fresh support to combat the deadly Ebola disease in West Africa, the European Commission announced Monday.
EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, announced the aid during his visit to Guinea from Friday to Sunday, Xinhua reported.
Of the total assistance of 61 million euros, 11 million euros will go to Guinea and 14 million euros to Liberia, which is expected to help cushion the economic effects of the Ebola outbreak.
Moreover, 20 million euros will be used to redirect a health project, launched in late 2013, in Guinea to address the Ebola crisis.
Also, 11 million euros will be allocated as an Ebola preparedness support fund in some African countries.
The rest of the assistance will be used to prevent violence and mitigate tensions that may arise from the outbreak in border areas of the affected countries.
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"Our new pledge will help the countries affected by Ebola to deal better with the multiple challenges that (have) arisen from this crisis," said Mimica.
"We need to make sure that the countries can quickly recover from this crisis and get back on a path of sustainable development," he added.
The Ebola disease is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. It is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly 7,000 people have died of the disease, mainly in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.