Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have been held between the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development about the situation in Sierra Leone caused by ebola; and what was the outcome.

There are ongoing high-level discussions across Government on the UK response to the Ebola outbreak including between the MoD and DFID. The scale of the crisis demands a coordinated, multi-departmental response by the UK Government.

On the 17^th of September, we pledged £100 million in support towards combatting the outbreak. At the heart of this is the provision of 700 treatment beds in Sierra Leone to help to save lives and contain the spread of Ebola. This will increase the number of available beds to more than 1,000 over the coming months. Work has already begun on a 92 bed treatment facility in Kerrytown which will provide 12 dedicated beds specifically for healthcare workers. The MoD will set up, build and operate this facility.

Given the gravity of the situation in Sierra Leone DFID, together with the MoD, is setting up a forward command and control logistical hub that will provide the backbone of infrastructure, commodities, training and management needed to scale up the response in Sierra Leone. The hub will be staffed by a large multi-agency team including military, humanitarian and health experts. It will work closely with international partners and with the Government of Sierra Leone.