Britain is to set up a medical centre to treat victims of the Ebola
epidemic in Sierra Leone, the international development secretary said
on Monday.
The 62-bed centre near the capital Freetown is planned
to be open in eight weeks' time and will be built and operated by
military engineers and medical staff.
The worst-ever outbreak of
the disease has killed 491 people in Sierra Leone, which is one of three
countries at the centre of an epidemic that has claimed over 2 000
lives so far.
"The scale of the problem requires the entire
international community to do more to assist the affected countries
which is why the UK is working with the Government of Sierra Leone to
build a new medical treatment facility near their capital Freetown,"
said international development secretary Justine Greening.
"When
it is up and running it will enable the UK to provide medical care for
local and international health workers, as well as treatment for the
wider population."
In the long term charity Save the Children may
manage the centre, which will have 12 beds dedicated for local and
international medical volunteers, the government said.
A British
nurse infected with Ebola while working in Sierra Leone recovered from
the disease after he was flown out of Africa by military plane and
treated in a London hospital.
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