Africa needs $1.4 billion to contain Ebola outbreak, health agency says

Africa will require $1.4 billion to effectively combat the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Speaking on the funding needs, Kaseya said the required amount is nearly three times higher than earlier estimates, TASS reports.

He stressed that without the mobilisation of these resources, it would be impossible to bring the outbreak under control. A significant portion of the funding is expected to be directed towards humanitarian assistance, particularly efforts to improve living conditions in refugee and displacement camps.

Kaseya warned that the situation in eastern DRC remains extremely challenging, as ongoing armed conflict is hampering the work of medical teams by obstructing patient isolation measures and contact tracing efforts.

Africa CDC had initially estimated that $518 million would be needed to address the outbreak. To date, international partners have pledged $910 million in support.

The current outbreak began in mid-May. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the number of confirmed Ebola cases has reached 1,118, including 291 fatalities. Uganda has recorded 20 confirmed infections.

The most affected areas are the Congolese province of Ituri and the North and South Kivu regions, where anti-government armed groups remain active. The conflict has triggered large-scale population displacement, with more than five million people forced to leave their homes. Over one million of them are currently living in camps for internally displaced persons.