Freetown, October 23 (RHC)-- African Union chief, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, is expected to visit three West African countries hit the hardest by the deadly Ebola virus. On Wednesday, an unnamed spokesman for the AU chief said in a statement that the official would visit Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea "to assess the situation first hand."

Dlamini-Zuma arrived at the base of the United Nations Mission on Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, on Wednesday and is scheduled to fly to Liberia today.

"We remain committed and in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in West Africa to put the Ebola epidemic under control," the African Union official said in a statement, adding: "We commend the ongoing continental and global efforts, but frankly, a lot more needs to be done to raise the needed resources considering the magnitude and rate of increase of the epidemic."

UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) chief, Carlos Lopes, is also traveling to the three West African countries.