UN chief Ban Ki-moon has praised the "selfless" efforts of health workers in Ebola-hit countries, and criticised quarantine restrictions put on those returning home.
Ban's comments on Monday came after an American nurse was placed in quarantine in New Jersey after returning from treating patients in Sierra Leone and complained she was made to feel like a criminal.
"Returning health workers who have managed to avoid infection are exceptional people who are giving to humanity," Ban said.
"They should not be subjected to restrictions that have no scientific basis. They should not be stigmatised for their selfless service."
On Friday, US nurse Kaci Hickox was isolated in a tent outside the main hospital building at Newark International Airport in New Jersey and made to wear paper scrubs.
"I feel like my basic human rights have been violated," Hickox said on Saturday, insisting she had shown no symptoms and tested negative for the disease.
Officials said she was to be discharged on Monday.
Ban, speaking in the Ethiopian capital and home to the African Union headquarters, said the workers should be supported, not locked away.
"We depend on them to fight this battle," Ban said.
"Please do not quarantine them because they have volunteered to serve in the affected countries."
West Africa is the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak that has claimed the lives of nearly 5000 people.
