Watch: Israel sending Ebola field hospital and staff to Africa
The delivery, which is expected to be shipped from Israel to Sierra Leon, Liberia and Guinea, includes six cargo containers of specialist equipment to set up the hospitals.
By REUTERSIsrael sending field hospital to help Ebola treatment
Final preparations were underway in the Israeli city of Ashdod on Tuesday as authorities prepared to send equipment and medical supplies to West African nations worst-affected by Ebola.The delivery, which is expected to be shipped from Israel on Friday to Sierra Leon, Liberia and Guinea, includes six cargo containers of specialist equipment to set up portable field hospitals."Each clinic consists of 20 beds and it's a fully equipped clinic with beds, and with carts and treatment carts and oxygen and certain medications and protection gear," Gil Heskel, the head of Mashav, Israel's Agency for International Aid and Development in the Foreign Ministry told Reuters.He added that Israel would send staff to constructs the clinics."We are donating these clinics to the three governments. In addition we are putting in touch Israeli NGO's with the local governments in order for them to send Israeli volunteers, medical staff, doctors, paramedics and nurses from Israel," he said.Heskel said it could take up to 40 days for the containers to reach West Africa.Each country will receive two containers of equipment.Further aid will also be distributed to Cameroon and the Ivory Coast in an attempt to stop the disease spreading further.The cost of the operation totals 1.2 million NIS ($314,466 USD) the Israeli Minister said.Ebola has killed more than 4,950 people since it broke out in West Africa earlier this year, according to the World Health Organization. The bulk of the cases and deaths have come in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.