There’s more aid coming to West Africa to fight the Ebola outbreak, and there’s some already on the ground as the death toll from the killer virus grows.  Earlier this week, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said 2,296 people have died.  But with hundreds of fatalities being added with every update, it’s likely that number is already much, much worse.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is kicking in US$50 Million in the humanitarian effort.  It will be used to purchase supplies and to develop vaccines, therapies and better diagnostic tools.

The US Embassy in Sierra Leone handed the keys to five new Toyota ambulances to President Ernest Bai Koroma (Toyota?  Really?  Not Ford or GM?  Toyota?), who said, “Together we will win this fight”.  Medical transportation is a major problem in the outbreak.  Many people are being taken to Ebola treatment centers via motorcycle ambulances or public transportation, turning them into sources of infection.  It’s probably more of a problem in Liberia than Sierra Leone, but every bit helps at this point.  The US has spent well more than $100 Million to fight the outbreak.

And the United Nations is putting up more than A$4.1 Million to fund a special UN air service that will operate in the Ebola-struck region.  UN Humanitarian chief Valerie Amos says there has been a significant reduction in commercial airline traffic in the Ebola region, which has hampered the deployment of health workers and supplies.