Canada is contributing another $30 million in Ebola funding to the United Nations and aid organizations working on the front lines, International Development Minister Christian Paradis announced Thursday.

In a written statement, Paradis said Canada is “deeply concerned” with the unprecedented spread of the deadly outbreak. The Ebola epidemic, which began in March, has now caused 6,263 cases and nearly 3,000 deaths, according to the latest update from the World Health Organization — a toll greater than all previous Ebola outbreaks combined since the virus was discovered in 1976.

On Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama warned that Ebola could turn into a “humanitarian catastrophe” if world leaders fail to dramatically ramp up their contributions.

“We need to be honest with ourselves. It’s not enough,” said Obama, speaking at the United Nations in New York. “We know from experience that the response to an outbreak of this magnitude needs to be both fast and sustained — like a marathon, but run at the pace of a sprint. That’s only possible if every nation and every organization does its part. And everyone has to do more.”

The newly announced Canadian funds will be channelled through “experienced humanitarian partners” (agencies within the UN system and non-profit organizations such as the Red Cross) and support three key areas: the treatment of Ebola patients, including in community centres; prevention efforts, such as social mobilization and health education; and the “broader humanitarian implications of the crisis,” including assistance with food, nutrition and non-Ebola health services.

It remains unclear how the new Canadian funds will be dispersed and whether the government will be sending more people to West Africa — something aid organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières have been urgently calling for.

“The required response must be hands-on, rigorous and disciplined,” MSF international president Dr. Joanne Liu said in a speech at the UN. “And it must not be subcontracted. It is not enough for states to just build isolation centres. While NGOs can manage some, you will have to manage many.”

Since the spring, the Public Health Agency of Canada has been sending a rotating three-scientist team to Sierra Leone to help diagnose Ebola cases. But in a CTV interview on Wednesday night, the agency’s newly hired head, Dr. Gregory Taylor, suggested he would also like to deploy special medical teams, build more treatment centres and use military aircraft for sending medical supplies.

None of these initiatives were mentioned in the federal government’s latest announcement. A spokesperson for Paradis said the minister was on a tight schedule and unavailable to answer questions.

Prior to Thursday’s announcement, Canada has committed roughly $5 million toward the Ebola response effort. According to a government spokesperson, $3.385 million has gone to the WHO; the UN health agency’s Ebola response website notes it has received $1.589 million U.S. (about $1.764 million Cdn.) from Canada so far.

The United Nations has said it will need nearly $1 billion (U.S.) to combat the unprecedented outbreak, which the WHO predicts could infect 20,000 people by early November if emergency efforts are not adequately scaled up.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an even grimmer worst-case scenario, which it announced earlier this week: 550,000 cases by the end of January — or even 1.4 million if unreported cases are included. CDC director Thomas Frieden has cautioned, however, that this prediction was made using outdated data from several weeks ago and fails to consider the recent surge in the emergency response.

Canada has so far shown “great leadership” in responding to the Ebola outbreak, according to Stephen Cornish, the executive director of MSF Canada, who spoke to the Star on Wednesday prior to the latest announcement.

But Cornish added that much more help is urgently needed — and any new promises will have to be translated into action quickly. The window for beating the Ebola epidemic is rapidly closing.

“These promises have to turn into reality urgently,” he said on Wednesday. “It’s not about promising what you can’t deliver; it’s about delivering.”

Canada has also supplied $2.5 million in personal protective equipment (PPE). The Public Health Agency of Canada has donated up to 1,000 doses of experimental vaccine — but the dosages have not yet been shipped. “The agreement is now being finalized and we are working out the logistics for the shipment of vaccines,” WHO spokesperson Daniel Epstein said in an email Tuesday. “This is not on the critical path as we still need to have minimum data available on the safety of the vaccine, expected in November, before deploying it.”

The PPE is still in the process of being delivered to the WHO, which will eventually distribute the protective gear in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Rahul Singh, executive director of Global Medic, has criticized the Canadian government for not donating the PPE sooner — in fact, the federal government has sold more than 300 pallets of surplus PPE since March, when the Ebola outbreak was first recognized in Guinea. In some cases, supplies were sold at a deep discount; on Aug. 1, more than 14,000 splash shields were sold for just a dollar.

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On Sept. 4, Health Canada asked the Public Works and Government Services department to “hold off posting any PPE products” on GC Surplus, a website used to auction off surplus stocks of federal goods, according to a spokesperson. A Public Health Agency of Canada spokesperson said the government was able to increase its donation by 12 per cent by stopping the surplus sales.

“It deeply troubles me to know that the Public Health Agency of Canada was auctioning off stockpiles of PPE for pennies on the dollar while health-care workers in West Africa are dying because they are not protected,” said Singh, whose organization has deployed people to Sierra Leone and Liberia.