DHAKA: United States president Barack Obama plans to ask Congress to approve his request for US$88 million to fund a major Ebola offensive in West Africa that would include greater military involvement.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, reports The Straits Times.

Obama is due to outline his plan on Tuesday during a visit to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

The initiative could include sending additional portable hospitals, doctors and health care experts, as well as providing medical supplies and training local health workers, the Journal cited people familiar with the matter as saying.

It is expected to have four components: controlling the outbreak where it emerged in West Africa; increasing the competence of the region’s public health system, especially in hard-hit Liberia; building local capacity through enhanced health care provider training; and increasing support from international organisations such as the United Nations and World Health Organization.

BDST: 1629 HRS, SEP 15, 2014