US announces additional $267m for DR Congo’s Ebola response
The United States has announced $267 million in additional support for the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola response, taking its direct health and humanitarian assistance to $887 million, the State Department said. The announcement came as the outbreak continued to spread, with officials reporting more than 3,600 deaths and 7,500 infections.
The United States has announced an additional $267 million to support efforts against an ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the State Department said on Wednesday. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The department said the latest funding brought total US direct health and humanitarian assistance for the outbreak to $887 million, making Washington the largest aid provider for the latest epidemic.
It said the announcement was also intended to encourage capable countries to increase their contributions and share the burden of responding to the crisis. Outgoing UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed last month for an additional $1.1 billion to fight the epidemic. The outbreak has continued to spread to new parts of the DRC, according to Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières.
Congolese public health officials said it had killed more than 3,600 people and infected 7,500 since mid-May. The figures make it the DRC’s worst recorded Ebola epidemic, according to the supplied report. The source does not specify how the newly announced US funds will be allocated or the timetable for their disbursement.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.