USAID announces nearly $56 million in additional assistance to contain Ebola in the DRC

The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing nearly $56 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help end the ongoing outbreak of Ebola in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the second-largest outbreak of the disease on record. This brings the total USAID funding for the efforts to respond to Ebola to more than $266 million since the beginning of the outbreak in August 2018. This funding also includes support for regional preparedness activities in the DRC and neighboring countries and is in addition to contributions from other U.S. Federal Departments and Agencies and the U.S. private sector.

With this funding, the United States is continuing to provide life-saving assistance through on-the-ground partners, including activities to prevent and control infections in health facilities, enhanced surveillance for the disease, training for health-care workers, community-engagement efforts, the promotion of safe and dignified burials, and food to support people and communities affected by Ebola.

Due to the persistent transmission of Ebola, ongoing insecurity, and the need for community buy-in, the United States has expanded its response to address additional critical needs in Ebola-affected communities. This includes supporting primary health-care facilities, rehabilitating water and sanitation infrastructure, providing nutritional support, protection services, and economic recovery-opportunities, while simultaneously financing direct efforts to contain the outbreak.

The United States is also funding critical preparedness efforts in the neighboring countries of the Republics of Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania, as well as in unaffected, but at-risk, areas of the DRC.

The United States is the largest single country donor to the Ebola response, and the U.S. Government has a Disaster-Assistance Response Team on the ground in the DRC made up of disaster and health experts from USAID and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This team continues to work with the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, humanitarian partners, and the Government of the DRC to help contain this outbreak and bring it under control.

Stopping the spread of Ebola requires a concerted, unified effort from the entire international community including the United Nations and regional governments – all in close partnership with the Government of the DRC and local communities. The United States strongly encourages other donors to provide additional financial and technical support to help end the outbreak, and calls upon all the governments of all countries that identify suspected cases of Ebola and other deadly infectious diseases to report them promptly and transparently, in accordance with their obligations under the International Health Regulations.