British military personnel and aid experts will set up a treatment centre for the deadly Ebola virus in Sierra Leone, the Government announced yesterday.
The 62-bed facility will be based near the African country's capital Freetown.
The UK's support follows a direct request from the World Health Organisation and the government of Sierra Leone for assistance in containing the outbreak.
The initial phase of the treatment centre will be up and running within eight weeks, the Department for International Development (DfID) said.
The centre will comprise a 50-bed facility for treating victims of the disease, with a 12-bed unit to provide specialist care for local and international health workers.
Military experts will begin to survey and assess the site later this week and the Government is working with Save the Children to design a long-term plan to manage and operate the facility after it has been fully set up.
International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: “Britain is at the forefront of the global effort to tackle this deadly outbreak, having already committed £25 million of support, including frontline treatment and funding for medical research to develop a vaccine.
“The scale of the problem requires the entire international community to do more to assist the affected countries, which is why the UK is working with the government of Sierra Leone to build a new medical treatment facility near their capital Freetown.
The scale of the problem requires the entire international community to do more
“When it is up and running, it will enable the UK to provide medical care for local and international health workers, as well as treatment for the wider population.”
Save the Children chief executive Justin Forsyth said: “Ebola threatens thousands of people’s lives across West Africa and could set back development many decades.
“The key to combating this epidemic is backing frontline health workers and underpinning a fractured health system in Sierra Leone – without urgent action to assist medics, many more children and their families will suffer and die from this most appalling and tragic disease.
“Save the Children is working alongside DfID and the Ministry of Defence on a feasibility study to cement plans to firstly help set up the centre and then take it over with international experts, as well as local staff, to provide the very best life-saving health service under the most challenging conditions.”
Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois said establishing the centre would present the military with a “unique set of challenges”.
He said: “The people of West Africa need our help and we will not stand idly by. The UK has been at the forefront of responding to the epidemic and our military will continue the great work so far.
“This operation will involve a unique set of challenges but I believe that we have the ability to provide support to the World Health Organisation in helping to bring the outbreak under control.”