World Bank readies $300 million to cover half of new Ebola response

A health worker sprays a colleague with disinfectant during a training session for Congolese health workers to deal with Ebola virus in Kinshasa October 21, 2014. REUTERS/Media Coulibaly

The World Bank Group is readying a $300 million package of grants and credits to support the fight against the deadly Ebola virus in Democratic Republic of Congo, it said on Wednesday.

It said the funding would meet about half the needs of a new Ebola response plan that is due to be agreed by the Congolese government and an international consortium next week. Previously the World Health Organization had said the response would need “hundreds of millions” of dollars for the rest of this year.