MELBOURNE — The Australian government has scaled up its response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, committing an additional A$24 million in funding to the tackle the deadly disease.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon, detailing an arrangement with the United Kingdom to assist in the operation of an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone.

A$20 million of the funding will go towards staffing the 100-bed center, which is expected to be built by the United Kingdom before the end of this month. The Abbott Government will not be deploying Australian health workers, but has instead engaged private healthcare provider Aspen to source medical personnel for the facility.

Abbott estimates that around 240 staff in total will be required with most locally engaged, along with some international workers and some Australian-paid volunteers.

The government had previously pledged A$18 million to fight Ebola, though this contribution has drawn its share of criticism. The Australian Medical Association has accused the government of dragging its feet, while the Federal Opposition has also been critical of a perceived lack of action.

Abbott said the government held reservations about the risk to Australian health workers and treatment options if they were to become infected. But the deal struck with the United Kingdom involves a guarantee that any infected Australians will be treated the same as UK nationals.

“We have been particularly concerned that any Australian personnel going to West Africa should be able to access appropriate treatment and evacuation procedures,” Abbott told the media in Canberra. “In the last few days we have had assurance from the United Kingdom that they would treat any Australian working in the Ebola-impacted parts of West Africa as though he or she were a citizen of the United Kingdom.”

A number of people have been tested for Ebola in Australia, though to date none have returned a positive result. Experts have said the country is well-placed to deal with cases of Ebola as a result of its very strong health system. A$2 million will be aimed at reinforcing this through funding extra training for medical staff from countries in the Pacific, such as Papua New Guinea, with a view to improving regional preparedness. A further A$2 million will go towards Australian logistics staff working with Ebola teams in West Africa.

Abbott said he expects Aspen to have medical staff on the ground within days.

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