The federal government needs to send health workers immediately to deal with an Ebola crisis that has orphaned more than 10,000 West African children, an Australian senator says.
Greens Senator Richard Di Natale, who has just returned from a 10-day trip in Liberia and Sierra Leone, says the situation is far from under control.
"We're seeing in Sierra Leone 500 new cases each week, we're seeing a number of people who are not getting access to treatment," he told reporters.
"We're seeing those people who are in treatment centres, 50 per cent of them are dying.
"We're seeing over 10,000 young children who've been orphaned by this crisis.
"We're seeing the health system, the education system and the economy in near total collapse."
Senator Di Natale says Australia's decision to restrict travel for West African nationals was not backed by evidence and didn't make people safer.
"No other country has put travel restrictions in place in the way that we have," he said.
"What it does do is stigmatise people who have been in West Africa who may not have been exposed to Ebola but may be necessary to help combat the epidemic."
He says Australia needs to boost the number of health professionals in the field immediately and the government should support it financially.
"The World Health Organisation have already said to me we could do with Australian epidemiologists in the field providing the sort of contact tracing and follow up work to make sure other people aren't getting the disease.
"There are many Australians who want to be there."
Senator Di Natale says the government must make a lasting commitment to West Africa so it can rebuild.
"If you've seen what I've seen, there is be no way you'd be contemplating cutting the aid budget, you'd be increasing it," he said.
Australia has so far contributed $42 million to the international effort, which includes a $20 million contract with private company Aspen to staff a British-built medical hospital in Sierra Leone.
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