JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified mining group BHP Billiton, which has worked in West Africa for a number of years through its iron-ore exploration assets, has donated $400 000 to the Pooled World Health Organisation Ebola Response fund.
The contribution from BHP Billiton will provide immediate actions to support affected countries and will provide interventions in neighbouring at risk countries until December 2014.
Currently, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are the most severely affected countries.
“The West Africa region is in desperate need of international assistance to contain Ebola. It is both a direct and indirect humanitarian disaster impacting on every person living in the affected countries including our employees and contractors past and present,” said BHP Billiton business director for West African iron-ore, Graham Reynolds.
The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the largest and most complex outbreak of the virus since it was first discovered in 1976. As of September 28, about 7 100 suspected cased have resulted in the deaths of an estimated 3 330 people.