Sierra Leone Requests Funds For Ebola Evacuation

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Sierra Leone has requested funds from the World Health Organization to evacuate a doctor sickened with the deadly Ebola disease.

A letter from President Ernest Bai Koroma's office said he had approved to fly Dr. Olivet Buck, a citizen of Sierra Leone, to a hospital in Hamburg, Germany. The letter seen Saturday asks the WHO to make funds available to the country's health ministry "without delay."

Buck would be the first citizen from one of the countries hit hardest by Ebola to receive treatment abroad. Three other Sierra Leone doctors who contracted the disease have died.

The worst Ebola outbreak in history has been blamed for 2,400 deaths across West Africa, with Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea recording the most cases.

The WHO could not immediately be reached for comment.

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