Today, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced more than $15 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help end the outbreak of Ebola in Équateur Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Since August 2018, USAID has provided more than $365 million for activities to prepare for, and respond to, Ebola in the DRC and neighboring countries.
With this new funding, USAID is providing lifesaving assistance for the people affected by the DRC's 11th outbreak of Ebola, including disease -surveillance, the transportation of patients, training on the prevention and control of infections in health facilities, the promotion of safe and dignified burials, and community-engagement programs to ensure everyone has access to accurate information about how to prevent and treat the disease.
Funding and expertise from the United States have played a major role in helping the Government of the DRC and its partners bring an end to Ebola outbreaks across the country, including the recent epidemic in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu Provinces. As part of these efforts, USAID deployed a Disaster-Assistance Response Team to the DRC, which continues to work with the Government of the DRC, the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and humanitarian partners to end the current outbreak in the Northwestern part of the country.
The United States remains the DRC's principal partner and largest bilateral donor to the response to Ebola. But stopping the spread of Ebola requires a concerted, unified effort from the international community – all in close partnership with the Government of the DRC and the communities touched by the disease. As the United States continues to scale up assistance for this new outbreak, USAID strongly encourages other donors to provide additional financial and technical support to meet the needs of the people affected by this outbreak and bring it to an end.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
