US Pledges Additional Sh31bn for East Africa Ebola Response
The new funding brings total U.S. assistance to $512 million as officials say Congo’s outbreak has become the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic ever.
- On Wednesday, the United States State Department announced an additional $242 million to combat the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the funding covers six months, bringing total direct U.S. assistance to $512 million.
- French medical charity MSF described the situation in eastern Congo as "more critical than ever," noting that deaths in the 11 weeks since the outbreak began are five times higher than during the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic.
- As of Tuesday, Congo confirmed 3,874 cases and 1,751 deaths according to government data. The World Health Organization warned last month that the true scale could be two to four times larger due to gaps in case detection and contact tracing.
- Aid officials criticized President Donald Trump for previous aid cuts that left responders ill-prepared. Pigott rejected these claims, stating U.S. support has "unquestionably stopped this outbreak from being worse."
- International aid officials identified this as the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic ever, citing armed conflict, surveillance gaps, and the absence of vaccines for the Bundibugyo strain as primary drivers of transmission.
19 Articles
19 Articles
The United States allocated more than $242 million to fight the Ebola epidemic, which is intensifying in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the State Department announced on Wednesday.
Handelsblatt
geoDonald Trump's government is actually known for withdrawing from international programs and eliminating tools. It now looks different when it comes to combating the Ebola virus.
The United States has withdrawn from the WHO, many aid programmes have been cut short, but the government is now announcing a further $242 million to combat the epidemic in Africa.
The United States was the country's largest bilateral donor to development assistance and the largest contributor to the humanitarian response plan.
President Donald Trump's U.S. government is offering additional million-dollar aid to combat the Ebola epidemic in Africa.
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