17th October, 2014
The UN trust fund for Ebola has barely $100,000, a pittance compared to what the world body says it needs to fight the worst outbreak on record, the New York Times said Friday.
The cash, which came from Colombia, is a tiny fraction of the $1 billion that the UN has estimated it needs to fight the epidemic that has killed around 4,500 people, the Times said.
The UN regards the Ebola trust fund as a flexible cash resource that can be drawn on as needed to contain the epidemic, the Times said, quoting UN officials.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had earlier told reporters the fund had $20 million in cash, but aides later said that amount referred to pledges and not cash, the Times said.
Separately, donors have given cash and non-cash contributions worth about $376 million to specific UN programs.