U.N.'s $1 billion Ebola fund gets deposit of just $100,000 so far
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A United Nations trust fund, seeking $1 billion to fight Ebola in West Africa, has received a deposit of just $100,000 nearly a month after it was set up to allow for rapid, flexible funding of the most urgent needs on the ground. As of Thursday, $365 million had been committed by at least 28 countries, the African Union, the European Union, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and several foundations and corporations, according to U.N. records. But nearly all that money was donated directly to U.N. agencies and nonprofits working on the ground in the three worst affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, with just $100,000 paid into the fund by Colombia, the records show. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Ban had created the Multi-Partner Trust Fund to accept donations after the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs launched an appeal Sept. 16 for $988 million to tackle the deadly hemorrhagic fever over the next six months. Dr. David Nabarro, who is heading the U.N. response to the Ebola crisis, told Reuters the trust fund was intended to offer "flexibility in responding to a crisis which every day brings new challenges; it allows the areas of greatest need to be identified and funds to be directed accordingly." Erin Hohlfelder, policy director for global health for international campaign and advocacy group ONE, said the response to the U.N. appeal was "pretty disappointing" and that it was important to coordinate contributions so "we don't let aid resources go to waste." "We have enough speeches and enough rhetoric that it starts to feel the case is solved," she said. "We're really concerned that until those speeches and that rhetoric translate into real services on the ground, we're not doing much to ebb the flow of this crisis." Nearly 4,500 people have died from the worst Ebola outbreak on record, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, with confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola reported in seven countries, including the United States. The United Nations has established a special mission, known as UNMEER, in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to coordinate efforts to contain Ebola, which is spread through direct contact with body fluids from an infected person. "We are hopeful that in the coming days and weeks we will see more countries investing in the Fund, using this mechanism to support the coordinated U.N. response on the ground. There are critical funding needs that must be met now," Nabarro said. Australia has committed to a contribution of more than $8.7 million into the trust fund, while Chile, Estonia, India and Romania have made non-binding pledges to the fund totaling $19 million, according to a trust fund document. The United Nations relies on donors, agencies and nonprofits to inform its Financial Tracking Service of their cash or in-kind contributions to the Ebola response and the list is by no means complete. In addition to the $365 million in cash and contributions of resources already registered under the U.N. appeal, another $204 million in pledges have been made and are yet to be filled.
