Phl rejects WHO's call to send health workers Ebola-hit West Africa

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine government has no plan to send medical workers to Ebola-hit West Africa, a senior official said today.

"As part of the United Nations, our country is ready to take measures to help in the global action against the spread of Ebola virus," said Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. at a news briefing in Manila.

But sending health workers as requested by the World Health Organization (WHO) could not be one of them, Coloma said, citing that there are many considerations that the Philippine government has to look into.

Currently, the government is focused on how to ensure the safety of the Filipino peacekeepers in Ebola-stricken Liberia, he said.

The WHO has said that having medical volunteers from the Philippines would be greatly appreciated amid the rising number of Ebola cases in three West African countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.