--- description: “If we want other countries to keep stepping up, we will have to continue to lead the way,” the president said. title: Obama Renews Calls for $6bn Ebola Fund image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd550b56a5768989d/69876c47524fc0552bdeb1e5/obama-on-ebola.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [ebola](/tag/ebola/) ## ebola Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Obama Renews Calls for a $6 Billion Ebola Fund by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2014 9:53 AM CUT  U.S. President Barack Obama talks about Ebola during his visit to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland on December 2, 2014. U.S. President Barack Obama talks about Ebola during his visit to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland on December 2, 2014.Larry Downing — Reuters by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2014 9:53 AM CUT U.S. President Barack Obama renewed calls Tuesday for Congress to approve more than $6 billion in emergency funding to help tackle the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The President issued the fresh plea during a visit to the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Maryland, where he praised researchers and scientists working on an experimental Ebola vaccine that has [shown](http://time.com/3607768/ebola-vaccine-is-safe-and-effective-according-to-first-study/ "undefined") promising results during initial rounds of testing. “If we want other countries to keep stepping up, we will have to continue to lead the way,” [said](http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/02/remarks-president-research-potential-ebola-vaccines "undefined") Obama. “And that’s why I’m calling on Congress to approve our emergency funding request to fight this disease before they leave for the holidays.” The President’s appeal comes as Doctors Without Borders sharply [criticized](http://time.com/3613803/ebola-doctors-without-borders-slow-response/ "undefined") the international community’s slow, uneven response to the Ebola outbreak. Globally over 17,000 people have contracted the highly contagious virus, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 6,000. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3615642/obama-ebola-congress-funds/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3615642/obama-ebola-congress-funds/"},"headline":"Obama Renews Calls for a $6 Billion Ebola Fund","datePublished":"2014-12-03T09:53:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:31:39.162Z","description":"He wants Congress to approve the aid package before the holiday recess","url":"https://time.com/3615642/obama-ebola-congress-funds/","keywords":["ebola","Congress","Barack Obama","Maryland","health","doctors without borders","West Africa"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd550b56a5768989d/69876c47524fc0552bdeb1e5/obama-on-ebola.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd550b56a5768989d/69876c47524fc0552bdeb1e5/obama-on-ebola.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. President Obama talks about Ebola at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda","caption":"U.S. President Obama talks about Ebola at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda","creditText":"Larry Downing — Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3615642/obama-ebola-congress-funds/","name":"Obama Renews Calls for a $6 Billion Ebola Fund"}}]}] ```