Provision of Personal Protective Equipment and Dispatch of Japan Disaster Relief Team in Response to Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in West African Countries

TOKYO, Japan, December 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- 1. The outbreak of the Ebola virus disease continues to spread in West Africa, with a total of 15,327 cases and 5,450 deaths reported in four countries, namely Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mali (As of November 25, WHO) . Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged at the United Nations General Assembly that Japan would provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that is required to secure safety of medical staff. In this regard, upon the request from these four countries, the Government of Japan decided to provide approximately 700,000 sets of PPE.

2. Out of the above, 20,000 sets of PPE will be transported by a Self-Defense Forces airplane (as part of the Japan Disaster Relief Team) within days to Accra, the Republic of Ghana, where the headquarters of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) is based. They will be distributed to the Ebola affected countries through the UNMEER.

3. Furthermore, emergency grant aid will be provided to international organizations in order to transport and distribute these PPE.

[Reference] Japan's assistance in the wake of the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa

(Total funding to date: Approximately USD 145 million)

（1） Emergency Grant Aid : Approximately USD 42.02 million

（2） Emergency relief goods : Approximately USD 920,000

（3） Disbursement to international organizations : Approximately USD 2.157 million

（4） Dispatch of experts : A total of 10 Japanese experts via the WHO

（5） Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security Projects : Approximately USD 800,000

（6） Future Assistance : up to USD 100 million