Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 13 October 2014- After the first deployment of 19 personnel under the African Union Support mission to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa in September, 21 more African paid volunteers have now been deployed to Sierra Leone while an additional 10 have been deployed to Liberia

The volunteers were deployed after undergoing their pre deployment briefing at the AU in Addis Ababa on the 10th and 11th of October.

The teams comprise epidemiologists, medical doctors, clinicians, public health specialists and communications personnel.

Meanwhile, the ASEOWA team that was deployed to Monrovia on 19th September is currently undergoing specialised training to be able to man the Ebola treatment units in Liberia.

ASEOWA is expected to enhance the capacity of existing national and international response mechanisms through mobilisation of technical expertise, resources, and political and financial support. It will complement the efforts of on-going humanitarian assistance and coordinate support provided to the affected member states to augment field response operations. It will also support public awareness and preventive measures across Africa and specifically in the affected region. WZM/

For further information contact

Wynne Musabayana | Deputy Head of Division | Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission | Tel: (251) 11 551 77 00 | Fax: (251) 11 551 78 44 | E-mail: MusabayanaW@africa-union.org | Web: www.au.int|Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

Tawanda Chisango | Social Affairs | African Union Commission |Tel: +251115182029 | E-mail: Chisangot@africa-union.org | Web:www.au.int|Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

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