Saudi king grants $35 mn for Ebola fight

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has granted $35 million to fight Ebola in an effort to slow a death toll which has reached nearly 6,400, the Islamic Development Bank said Thursday.

The grant will provide schools in West Africa with heat sensors and medical equipment to help prevent and treat the illness, Ahmed Mohamed Ali, president of the Jeddah-based IDB, said in a statement.

Similar equipment will be provided at airports and other terminals, said the IDB, which will implement the project.

It said the funds will also help to establish specialised treatment centres in the most affected countries—Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

Another treatment centre will be set up in Mali, where six people have died from Ebola.

Ali said the equipment will speed up the opening of schools in affected countries and bolster health and other infrastructure, "thus saving thousands of lives and ensuring the safety of those at risk of contamination".

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization reported 17,942 cases of the virus across eight countries as of December 7, with 6,388 deaths.

Saudi Arabia is the major shareholder of the Jeddah-based IDB.