Singapore: Australian Prime Minister Mr Tony Abbott said that the nation is contracting a private company to staff and operate an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone. The Prime Minister further added that the Australian government will contribute $17 million to a 100 bed treatment center being built by the UK.

Mr Abbott further stated that the healthcare workers for the center will be locally recruited. Australia had been criticized for its response to the crisis, which included the suspension of entry visas for visitors from Ebola-affected countries, as well as a refusal to send health workers to fight the epidemic.

"We are not sending people over," said the Prime Minister. "We are ensuring there is a 100-bed treatment center staffed and run in Sierra Leone. Aspen, an Australian health provider, is doing it." Aspen Medical, which has provided health services for the Australia government, has been running a health clinic in Liberia for several months.