The U.S. President's asking America's politicians to approve 6 billion dollars worth of funding to help fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

President Obama made the plea on a visit to the National Institutes of Health, where he congratulated scientists on work towards a vaccine.

The WHO says 6,055 people have died in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Barack Obama's told members of Congress that although the story has faded from the headlines, the battle against the virus isn't over:

Yesterday, international humanitarian organisation, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned that the international response to the Ebola outbreak has been too slow and uneven, while the World Bank has lowered its economic forecasts for the affected countries.

In Guinea, the economy is predicted to grow by 0.5 percent - down from an expected growth rate of 4.5 before the crisis. Sierra Leone was expected to grow by 11.3 percent this year, now it will grow at 4 percent. Liberia will grow by 2.2 percent - down from an original estimate of 5.9 percent.