African Development Bank chief, Donald Kaberuka wants new money to fight Ebola

'Repackaging' old aid cash as new cash will not help, if taken away from other areas of need progress will stall.

AJE News @AJENews · Oct 12

African development bank chief warns Ebola donors against 'repackaging' old aid cash as new

Africa Bank chief worried previous aid donations could be 'repackaged' and taken away from other areas of need.

Last updated: 12 Oct 2014 08:00

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African Development Bank chief described international response to Ebola outbreak as too little, too late [Getty Images]

The head of the African Development Bank expressed concern that some donors responding to the Ebola crisis were repackaging aid money, channelling it away from other areas of need in the three countries at the centre of the epidemic.

In an interview on Saturday, Donald Kaberuka said moving funds from already allocated development projects in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone was unhelpful in the long term and would make it more difficult for the countries to recover.

"I have told donors that I hope what they are announcing is additional resources because if it isn't ... once (Ebola) is gone we will have no resources to build healthcare systems and continue reconstruction," Kaberuka told Reuters news agency on the sidelines of meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, in Washington.

"We need to put new money on the table," he said, adding that he feared that once the crisis eased countries would be left without funding for development projects earmarked before Ebola arrived.

Kaberuka has criticised the international response to the Ebola outbreak as too little, too late.

Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/10/ebola-donors-urged-not-divert-old-aid-cash-201410125855416545.html