The European Union will contribute €5 million to Uganda to fight Ebola

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The European Union will contribute €5 million to Uganda to fight Ebola

Brussels, 28 November. The European Commission (EC) announced today that it will provide €5 million to Uganda to support clinical trials of vaccines and treatments to combat the Ebola outbreak in the country.

“The outbreak of the deadly disease in Uganda is of great concern, and the EU will support the emergency response to contain and control this outbreak. This includes investment in research and development to find vaccines and treatments for Ebola virus from Sudan,” he said in a statement. Statement by the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides.

The cause of the outbreak is an unusual strain from Sudan, for which there is no approved vaccine, but it is less transmissible and has a lower mortality rate than the Zaire strain.

Of the money contributed by the CEO to the community, 4 million will be earmarked for a vaccine trial, an amount expected to cover the funding gap identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the remaining 1 million will be earmarked for a therapeutic trial once a clinical trial protocol is completed and approved.

Since the Ebola outbreak was declared in Uganda on September 20, at least 19 health professionals have contracted the virus on the job, killing seven of them, while Ugandan authorities have confirmed at least 141 infections and 55 deaths.

The European Commission has already provided €3.2 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Uganda, in support of its efforts to combat the outbreak, as well as providing emergency assistance to neighboring countries. EFE

dry / cg

(More information about the European Union at euroefe.euractiv.es)

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