New Zealand Approves Sending Of Kiwi Medical Workers To Fight Ebola In Sierra Leone

New Zealand will be sending medical workers to West Africa to help fight Ebola. The government approved the deployment of 24 Kiwi volunteers who will be funded by an investment of $1.6 million. They will be sent to a new treatment facility with 100 beds to be set up in Sierra Leone and managed by Australia.

According to Health Minister Jonathan Coleman, the medical workers will be sent on a "voluntary basis" only. They are expected to help out in Sierra Leone between six and 12 weeks. In a statement, he said the New Zealand government is "seriously" bearing the responsibility for the welfare of Kiwi volunteers while in service. In a report by NZ Herald, the government would ensure they will have access to medical treatment and evacuation transport if necessary.

Coleman said Ebola continued to devastate some parts of West Africa and claim the lives of about 5,000 people. According to reports, the Ebola outbreak has infected 14,000 people in the region. The health minister feared that if the world will fail to act on Ebola, the number of cases might increase exponentially. He said the current outbreak may affect the stability of Africa in the long run.

Previous reports have indicated that a number of doctors and nurses in New Zealand had expressed interest in working in West Africa in the international effort to fight the disease. Aside from sending medical workers, the New Zealand government will provide $1 million assistance package to Pacific nations to help prepare them in case of an Ebola outbreak.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has earlier said the risk of Ebola reaching the Pacific island nation was low, but if ever the virus did spread, the consequences of it would be "devastating." The additional funds that New Zealand will give will be added to regional response plan of the World Health Organisation in improving the Pacific countries' ability to detect and respond to cases of Ebola.

The WHO has declared the outbreak in West Africa a global health emergency with Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia among the worst affected countries. Earlier in November, Australia contracted private company Aspen Medical to run a clinic in Sierra Leone.