UN allocates $3M for Ebola preparedness in Central African Republic

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $3 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to strengthen Ebola preparedness efforts in the Central African Republic, a UN spokesman said Friday.

"The risk of Ebola outbreak spreading has increased following the confirmation of cases in the provinces of the DRC that border the Central African Republic," Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Dujarric said the funds will support disease surveillance, isolation capacity, community engagement and access to water as authorities and humanitarian partners prepare for a possible outbreak.

"The Central African Republic already faces a humanitarian crisis driven by conflict, floods, diseases and regional instability, leaving an estimated 2.3 million people-over a third of the population-in need of vital assistance," he added.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is growing "exponentially," with more than 2,500 people killed in the past three months, a senior UN coordinator on the disease said Friday.