Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent reports she has received on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa; and if she will make a statement.

The Department for International Development is leading the Government’s operational response in Sierra Leone. To date, the UK has committed £325 million to eradicating the disease in Sierra Leone. With UK help, Sierra Leone now has enough treatment and isolation beds for Ebola patients, enough laboratories to test for the virus quickly and effectively, enough trained burial teams to make sure bodies are buried quickly, safely and with dignity, and a command and control structure that is making the Ebola response more efficient and effective.

I welcome reporting by the World Health Organisation that the number of new cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone has fallen dramatically in recent weeks. From a peak of 537 cases in late November, most recent reporting was 63 cases at the end of February. It is clear that our strategy is working and we must continue our focus on getting to zero cases as quickly as possible.