The money will be distributed to the governments of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea as well as to the World Health Organization (WHO). 

 

The number of people killed in the outbreak has reached 887, the WHO says.

 

The World Bank's announcement came as African leaders including 35 presidents discuss the crisis in Washington. 

 

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim - an expert on infectious diseases - said that he was "deeply saddened" by the spread of the virus and how it was contributing to the breakdown² of "already weak health systems in the three countries".

 

"I am very worried that many more lives are at risk unless we can stop this Ebola epidemic³ in its tracks," he said.

 

The BBC's Paul Blake in Washington says that in the the short term, the money will be used to pay health workers, dispel⁴（消除） rumours⁵ about the disease in local communities and address the immediate⁶ needs of getting sick people into health facilities. 

 

The BBC's Tulip Mazumdar witnessed the burial of an Ebola patient

 

Over the long term, our correspondent says, the funds will be used to help countries deal with the economic impact of the outbreak and to monitor the spread of the disease. 

 

The package is now awaiting approval by the World Bank's Board of Directors, though officials say the confirmation⁷ could come as early as this week.

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