G20 Summit Leaders in Fight Against Ebola

Leaders of the world's richest countries at the G20 summit in Australia (Brisbane) have pledged to do everything possible to "eradicate" the Ebola epidemic, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

- G20 member states have committed to doing everything to ensure international efforts lead to the eradication of the epidemic and to cover all economic and humanitarian consequences - states the G20 communiqué released after the first day of the summit, which concludes on Sunday.

The Ebola epidemic has so far killed 5,000 people, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, according to the World Health Organization.

Heads of state and government called on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to continue their strong support for affected countries.

The World Bank used the G20 summit to advocate for its plan to establish "emergency funds" intended to better cope with future pandemics, in order to avoid a repeat of the slow and delayed response seen with the Ebola virus.

The institution believes that the spread of the current epidemic could cost West Africa more than 32 billion dollars by the end of 2015.