It is understood the US military will oversee¹ building new treatment centres and help train medical staff. 

 

There has been criticism of the slow international response to the Ebola epidemic² in West Africa. 

 

Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea are the worst-hit countries. The outbreak has killed more than 2,400 people.

 

More than half of those killed by the virus have been in Liberia. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned recently that the country could see thousands of more cases.

 

US officials said the aim of the country's anti-Ebola initiative is to:

 

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has appealed directly to Mr Obama for help in tackling the outbreak.

 

Several disease experts have welcomed the US plan, though some also question its focus on Liberia.

 

"We should see all of West Africa now as one big outbreak," says Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, quoted in The New York Times. "It's very clear we have to deal with all the areas with Ebola."

 

On Monday, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said greater and faster outside help was needed. 

 

Ebola spreads between humans by direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids or organs, or indirectly⁵ through contact with contaminated environments.

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