UNITED NATIONS -- Canada will contribute another $30 million to the fight against the Ebola outbreak in Africa, International Development Minister Christian Paradis said today.
The money will be channelled through the Canadian Red Cross and other agencies.
Paradis said the aid help in treating patients and will also go towards education and prevention efforts.
Canada earlier contributed $5 million and hundreds of doses of an experimental vaccine to fight the deadly outbreak.
"As the number of cases continues to rise, it is obvious more needs to be done," Paradis told a news conference in New York. "We need to combat the disease as well as the fear that surrounds it if we are to be successful."
He said the international response needs to be better organized.
"Canada continues to be deeply concerned by the inadequate co-ordination of efforts at this time. The specific role of the UN and other lead agencies such as the military and (non-governmental organizations) needs to be made clear."
The virus has killed about 3,000 people in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Nigeria since the outbreak began in the summer.
The epidemic continues to spread and health experts warn that the number of cases could rise dramatically in the coming months without better efforts to contain the virus.
The World Health Organization says earlier Ebola outbreaks came in remote villages in central Africa, but the latest involves major urban areas in the west of the continent.
The agency says the average fatality rate for Ebola is around 50 per cent, although it has climbed as high as 90 per cent in some outbreaks.
It says this epidemic is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the virus was first discovered in 1976, with more cases and deaths than all the others combined.
