IMF offers $130M to fight Ebola in West Africa

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved $130 million in emergency aid to help countries in West Africa respond to the Ebola epidemic.

IMF’s executive board approved about $48 million for Liberia, $41 million for Guinea and $40 million for Sierra Leone — three countries hit hard by the deadly disease.

The aid is meant to make up for a shortfall of about $300 million resulting from the outbreak.

{mosads}“The Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone has already cost too many lives,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement. “This humanitarian crisis could also have deep economic consequences.”

The funding comes after the World Bank announced an additional $170 million on Thursday to help West African nations handle the epidemic, bringing the organization’s commitment to $400 million.  

Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned there could be up to 1.4 million cases of Ebola by January.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, said this month it would shift $500 million in funds to help combat the disease. Congress also approved $88 million for Ebola in the stopgap spending bill signed into law last week.