The United States has done more than any other country to help West Africa respond to the Ebola crisis.

In response to the outbreak, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Mali to lead the overall U.S. response to the Ebola crisis. Besides USAID, the DART is made up of other government entities that have experience needed for an effective response, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. military, and the U.S. Public Health Service.

Since August 2014, USAID has worked to increase the number of Ebola clinics and burial teams in West Africa to contain the disease and stop the spread of infection. The Agency has worked with UN and NGO partners to bring in more health care workers, and we have partnered with the U.S. military to provide them with critical training to safely care for patients. The USAID Ebola DART has expanded the pipeline of medical equipment and critical supplies to the region and is supporting the U.S. Public Health Service's efforts to run a field hospital in Liberia that treats health care workers who contract ebola.

The spread of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa is also a reminder of the vast development needs that persist in some of the region's poorest countries despite rapid economic growth and investment. As a development agency, USAID is very concerned about the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa – and its potential for expansion – because of the health, economic, and social impacts this disease is having in the affected countries.

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