UN Ebola coordinator to visit West Africa

UN chief coordinator to to fight Ebola virus David Nabarro speaks during a news conference at the UN Headquarters in New York, Aug 19, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

UNITED NATIONS - The public health expert coordinating UN efforts to fight Ebola said on Tuesday that he's heading to Washington and then to West Africa to determine the best ways the world body can support people, communities and governments affected by the deadly disease.

David Nabarro told a news conference that he will have "intensive interactions" on Wednesday with the World Bank, experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others before flying to Dakar, Senegal on Wednesday night.

Nabarro, who was appointed a week ago, said he will then travel to the four countries affected by the current Ebola outbreak - Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.

He said there is a huge, unmet demand for health workers not only to care for Ebola patients but also to care for people with other conditions.