UCSF researcher forms alliance to better fund Ebola education in Africa

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A University of California, San Francisco researcher has just returned from Africa and he said a new alliance has been formed in the fight against the spread of Ebola, which means more money and resources to help save lives.

In Sierra Leone, Dr. Dan Kelly is a teacher. He's taught 1,000 healthcare workers how to protect themselves from the Ebola virus.

"I think what was more scary was to see the nurses just wearing gloves only in the wards taking care of these patients who were positive with Ebola," Kelly said.

Kelly is getting some backup.

His group, Wellbody Alliance, is joining with Partners in Health, the leader in the health and human rights movement funded by Harvard's Paul Farmer. The partnership means more resources and better connections.

"We're like a $500,000 organization that has been helping a district of people, but we only have 150 employees and Partners in Health has 14,000 employees."

PIH also has a $40 million budget.

In other good news, the U.S. government is offering 10 to 20 Medevac planes.

Kelly says volunteers will be more willing to travel if they know they can get home if they get sick.

"What I'm really trying to do, with the help of other individuals, is create a pipeline of U.S. clinicians that can go over and help respond to this crisis," he added.

The Ebola virus has killed nearly 2,300 people, but Kelly says stories of survival and experimental drugs are giving patients hope -- a hope he's starting to feel himself.

"I think we're gaining ground but we have a long, long way to go," he said.