Australia promises $6.4 million to fight Ebola

Foreign minister Julie Bishop said in a statement on Wednesday the fresh funds include AU$2 million requested by Britain to help that country deliver medical services in Sierra Leone.

Australia has announced it will immediately provide an additional 7 million Australian dollars ($6.4 million) to help the international response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The country had previously committed AU$1 million to the international response to the viral disease outbreak that has killed at least 2,400 people.

Foreign minister Julie Bishop said in a statement on Wednesday the fresh funds include AU$2 million requested by Britain to help that country deliver medical services in Sierra Leone.

Another AU$2.5 million will go to the World Health Organization's consolidated regional response, and AU$2.5 million will be given to Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, for medical services.

The World Health Organization says the death toll from Ebola could rise to more than 20,000.