The New Zealand government is to help Pacific countries prepare for an Ebola outbreak and to fund 24 volunteer medical workers in a mission to fight the deadly virus in West Africa.
The volunteers would join an Australian-led mission to Sierra Leone on deployments lasting six to 12 weeks, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said in a statement Monday, adding the mission would cost the government about 2 million NZ dollars (1.59 million U.S. dollars).
"The government takes its responsibility to these volunteers very seriously and ensuring their safety is our paramount concern. Through our planning we have ensured that the New Zealand volunteers have access to suitable treatment, including medical evacuation, should it be required," said Coleman.
"Ebola is having a devastating impact in parts of West Africa. More than 5,000 people have died from the disease and it is estimated that more than 14,000 people have become infected," he said.
"If the developed world fails to act, case numbers will exponentially increase, with devastating consequences for long term stability in Africa."
Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the government would also provide a package of assistance to Pacific countries to help them prepare for an Ebola outbreak.
"The risk of Ebola reaching the Pacific is very low, but the consequences if it did could be devastating," McCully said in the statement.
"We have agreed to provide 1 million NZ dollars (796,495 U.S. dollars) to the World Health Organization regional response plan, which aims to improve Pacific Island countries' ability to detect, contain, and respond to Ebola cases."
The new projects brought New Zealand's total funding for the international response to Ebola to 5 million NZ dollars (3.98 million U.S. dollars), following previous funding to United Nations agencies responding in West Africa.