US releases additional $20 million to support Ebola preparedness in Africa

The United States has announced an additional $20 million in funding to support Ebola preparedness efforts in four African countries as concerns mount over the worsening outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The funding was disclosed in a statement released on Wednesday, June 10, and published on the U.S. State Department website.

The latest allocation brings total U.S. State Department support for Ebola response and preparedness efforts to more than $220 million, building on the over $200 million already committed to combating the disease and preventing its spread across the region.

According to the State Department, the additional $20 million will support Ebola preparedness activities in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan.

The funds will be used to strengthen national emergency operations centres, improve surveillance and testing capacity, enhance border screening and infection prevention measures, procure critical medical supplies, and help health authorities prepare to manage potential Ebola patients.

The Department stated that through more than $220 million in direct support for Ebola response and preparedness efforts, implementing partners continue to assist with contact tracing, border and point-of-entry screening, health facility response operations, and community education initiatives aimed at countering misinformation about the virus and its transmission.

The U.S. said its funding has supported a range of Ebola response activities across affected countries. In the DRC, UNICEF delivered 150 metric tons of water, sanitation, hygiene and infection-control supplies to frontline health facilities, while the International Organization for Migration deployed a mobile laboratory to expand diagnostic capacity in outbreak zones.

The United States has also worked with private-sector logistics partners to transport critical Ebola response supplies, including infection prevention materials and burial kits, into affected areas of the DRC.

Concerns are growing that the Ebola outbreak continues to worsen despite regional and international response efforts.

Last week, Nairametrics reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) had revised down the number of confirmed Ebola infections linked to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo to 321 cases. However, the situation has since deteriorated, with Congolese authorities reporting that confirmed infections have risen to 598 cases, including 115 deaths.

The escalating outbreak has triggered significant international financial support, with African countries receiving approximately $498.8 million in pledges to strengthen response efforts.

In addition, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has allocated up to $60 million from its emergency response fund to support containment measures targeting the ongoing outbreak linked to the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in Central Africa.