South Africa’s Department of Health (DoH), which has created the Ebola Response Fund, has set a goal of raising R250-million to coordinate and manage relief assistance for the affected countries.

The department is making an urgent call to South Africa’s private sector to donate to the Ebola Response Fund. The objective of the Fund is to support South Africa’s drive to assist the affected countries to halt the social and humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in the region.

The DoH is working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to coordinate and harmonize support for the response to the Ebola outbreak.  The government of South Africa has itself already committed R32.5-million.

A number of major companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange have also pledged their support in cash and in kind to the Ebola Response Fund, at a meeting convened by the Director-General of Health on Friday 19th September 2014 at the JSE.

“A pledge to donate money to the Ebola Response Fund will go a long way into helping Africa tackle this social and humanitarian crisis,” says Malebona Matsoso, Director-General of Health in South Africa.

The donations will be used to support the immediate response to the unfolding crisis, in the following areas:

·         Setting up a 40-bed Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone

·         Provision of qualified people to staff the treatment unit

·         Strengthening of the surveillance system and database

·         Supporting social mobilisation efforts in the communities in affected countries

·         Expanding laboratory capacity, and

·         Project management

Contributions in cash or in kind to the Ebola Response Fund will be managed by the University of the Witwatersrand (Faculty of Health Sciences and Right to Care) working in partnership with the Department of Health. The DoH will work with the World Health Organization country office to coordinate all efforts. All funds will be audited and strict corporate governance will be adhered to.

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