Lagos (AFP) - The World Bank has pledged $200 million to help contain the deadly Ebola virus causing panic across West Africa, as Nigerian authorities say a doctor in Lagos has contracted the disease, the second case in the sprawling city.
The confirmation that a fourth doctor in the region had developed Ebola came Monday as fear and anger about the dead being left unburied in Liberia's capital Monrovia brought protesters into the streets there.
Meanwhile, Sierra Leone's president said that the regional epidemic threatened the "very essence" of the nation.
The World Bank said Monday that it would provide up to $200 million to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help the west African nations contain the deadly outbreak.
World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, himself an expert on infectious diseases, said he has been monitoring the spread of the virus and was "deeply saddened" at how it was contributing to the breakdown of "already weak health systems in the three countries".
The funding will help provide medical supplies, pay healthcare staff and take care of other priorities to contain the epidemic and try to prevent future outbreaks, the World Bank said.
The bank made the announcement as African leaders, including 35 presidents, are visiting Washington for a US-Africa summit.
