African news : breaking news, features, analysis

Vital supplies and resources to tackle Ebola are beginning to arrive in the three worst-hit West African countries, Ghana's President John Mahama has said.

Mr Mahama, who heads the regional bloc Ecowas, also told the BBC that treatment centres were being set up in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

But he called for proper co-ordination between agencies to avoid duplication.

The outbreak has killed more than 4,500 people, almost all of them in those three countries.

An estimated 70% of those infected have died.

Meanwhile, Nigeria was declared free of Ebola after six weeks with no new cases, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

Last week, Senegal was declared virus-free.

'Closing gaps'

Mr Mahama told the BBC that the World Food Programme was airlifting humanitarian aid to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Vehicles, motorcycles and other means of transport are going in there. There's more protective clothing being provided," he said.

"But there's no need for us to duplicate each other and have more treatment centres when we do not have volunteers and health workers to treat the people in the treatment centres.

"It must be a balance of things, closing all the gaps that exist and make sure that optimally the resources are going towards containing the disease," the Ghanaian president added.

Mr Mahama said he had convened an Ecowas summit in November to co-ordinate the international response.

He said other West African nations needed to learn lessons from Nigeria.

'Good idea'

Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss how to strengthen their response to Ebola.

Speaking on the sidelines, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he expected the meeting to appoint a co-ordinator to galvanise the EU's response to the epidemic.

"My colleagues are unanimous in saying that this idea of a European co-ordinator for the fight against Ebola is a good idea," he said.

"The name will be chosen in the coming days. I think it's a very important step."

European countries have committed more than 500m euros (£400m; $600m) but the UK is pressing for that amount to be doubled.

The money is being sought to help reinforce overstretched healthcare systems in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea and to mitigate the damage Ebola is doing to their economies.

No goggles'

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced stringent new guidelines for healthcare personnel who may be dealing with Ebola patients.

It said employees must be repeatedly trained in the use of protective equipment, demonstrating competency in putting on and taking off such clothing.

No skin should be exposed, the CDC said, and the gear should include gloves, a waterproof gown or coveralls, a respirator, a face shield and a disposable hood.

"Goggles are no longer recommended as they may not provide complete skin coverage in comparison to a single use disposable full face shield," it said.

It added that a trained observer must be present to watch every step of the process of putting on and taking off the protective equipment.

credit: BBC