In view of the increasing number of Ebola cases and the danger that the disease will spread uncontrollably in West Africa, the Federal Foreign Office has provided a further 500,000 euros to help combat the virus.

The funding will be used to support the non governmental organisation Médecins Sans Frontières. Funding will also be increased for the work of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine as part of the German Partnership Programme for Excellence in Biological and Health Security. Since the beginning of the Ebola crisis, the Bernhard Nocht Institute, with the support of the Federal Foreign Office, has been working to improve diagnostics, laboratory infrastructure and the safe storage of samples.