EU pledges additional €16.5 million to strengthen Ebola response in Africa

The European Union will provide an additional 16.5 million euros to help contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said on June 9 following a visit to affected areas and meetings with African health authorities.

The funding package includes 6.5 million euros to strengthen the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative, supporting frontline response teams, healthcare worker training and disease surveillance through improved diagnostics.

A further 5 million euros will be allocated to the World Health Organisation to bolster surveillance efforts and improve access to essential supplies, including personal protective equipment.

The EU will also provide testing equipment worth 5 million euros, including rapid diagnostic devices and laboratory test kits, for deployment in affected areas. The additional support remains subject to approval by the EU's budgetary authority.

During a visit to Bunia in eastern Congo, Lahbib met healthcare workers and humanitarian organisations involved in Ebola treatment, infection prevention, community engagement and logistics operations.

She also travelled to Addis Ababa, where she held talks with the African Union and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) aimed at strengthening cross-border coordination and accelerating the response to the outbreak.

"Health security is a shared responsibility: viruses do not stop at borders; they do not care about politics," Lahbib said in a statement. "Europe will continue to stand with Africa CDC, with WHO, and with the communities on the front line of this outbreak."

The latest pledge follows a 15 million euro emergency humanitarian assistance package announced by the European Commission in May for Ebola response efforts in the DRC and Uganda.

The EU said it has allocated more than 115 million euros in emergency humanitarian support to the Great Lakes region and Uganda in 2026.

In addition, an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge operation conducted with UNICEF has delivered nearly 100 tonnes of aid supplies to eastern Congo, including medicines, protective equipment, infection-control materials and tents. The bloc said it is organising five additional flights to the DRC.

By Aghakazim Guliyev