A street collection held in the Isle of Man last weekend for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal to combat the deadly Ebola virus has raised ?6,300.

The money, collected by volunteers in Douglas, Ramsey, Peel, Castletown and Port Erin, has gone directly to the DEC to be distributed to aid agencies working on the ground who are providing help in a variety of ways.  This includes medical and protective equipment, support for families in quarantine or who have lost loved ones to the disease, and public health education and training programmes.

This current outbreak of Ebola is believed to have claimed at least 5,177 lives, more than all other known Ebola outbreaks combined.  The total number of reported cases is now in excess of 14,000 according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), although it is thought these figures are likely to be underestimated due to the difficulty of collecting accurate data.  WHO warns there could be as many as 20,000 cases by the end of November if efforts to tackle the outbreak are not stepped up. 

Over ?20million has now been raised across the UK for the DEC Appeal and the Isle of Man Government has also donated ?100,000 to the appeal through its International Development Committee.

The street collection on the Island was co-ordinated by the One World Centre.  Donations may still be made either via the DEC collecting tins at local Manx Co-op stores or directly through the DEC website at www.dec.org.uk.