Freetown, September 10 (RHC)-- Liberia's Defense Minister Brownie Samukai has told the United Nations that his country's "existence" is threatened by the Ebola epidemic.

"Liberia is facing a serious threat to its national existence," he told the UN Security Council on Tuesday, adding that the deadly virus is "now spreading like wild fire, devouring everything in its path."

As the hardest-hit country in West Africa, Liberia is bracing for more disaster with an expected increase in cases that have already left about 1,200 dead -- over half of the 2,296 killed by the disease in the region.

Samukai further said that the outbreak has overwhelmed Liberia's poor health system and the country lacks the "infrastructure, logistical capacity, professional expertise and financial resources to effectively address this disease."

The comments come as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is planning a "high-level event" on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly later in September in an effort to "highlight the needs and required response" to the Ebola crisis. The UN is demanding $600 million worth of supplies for West Africa while countries have been asked to dispatch doctors, nurses, beds, trucks, equipment and other vehicles to the affected nations.