Africa sets up $28 million Ebola crisis fund

The African Union (AU), African Development Bank and regional business leaders have set up a crisis fund to help areas hit by the Ebola outbreak, the AU said in a statement.

The organisation said a landmark pledging meeting held in the Ethiopian capital on Saturday saw African business leaders offer more than $28 million to help the response to the epidemic.

According to the World Health Organization, 13,268 people had been infected with Ebola across eight countries, and 4,960 of them have died.

"While the global response to the current crisis has increased in recent weeks, there is still a critical need for additional competencies to care for those infected, strengthen local health systems and prevent the disease spreading," the AU said.

It said the pledging meeting was attended by leaders from the banking, telecommunications, mining, energy, services and manufacturing sectors from across Africa.