<\/p>\n
The funding will strengthen emergency response measures in DRC, South Sudan and Uganda following the declaration of a new Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC in May.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The package consists of a $10 million grant reallocated from AfDB’s DRC portfolio and channelled through the World Health Organisation (WHO), alongside a $3 million grant from AfDB’s Multi-Country Emergency Assistance Project covering DRC, Uganda and South Sudan. The second grant will be implemented by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
DRC, the epicentre of the outbreak, will receive $11 million, while Uganda and South Sudan will each receive $1 million.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The outbreak was officially announced on May 15 and is centred in Ituri province in eastern DRC, with cases also reported in Bunia, Rwampara and Mongwalu. Since then, the disease has spread to North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Under AfDB’s Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak Response Plan, the funding will be used to halt the spread of the virus and reduce deaths and illness in the most affected communities. The programme will be implemented in close cooperation with national health authorities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Key interventions will include strengthening early diagnosis of cases, enhancing disease surveillance systems, improving community engagement, raising public awareness and supporting regional coordination efforts.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AfDB Deputy Director General for Central Africa and Country Manager for DRC Mohamed Cherif said the financing demonstrates the Bank’s commitment to supporting countries affected by health emergencies.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“This emergency support reflects the AfDB Group’s commitment to supporting the DRC and countries in the region in protecting human lives, strengthening the resilience of health systems and preventing the spread of the epidemic.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cherif added: “Through this support, the Bank Group reaffirms its commitment to standing by regional member countries in times of crisis.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Health authorities have expressed particular concern because the latest outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a highly virulent variant for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The new infections have heightened fears of cross-border transmission given the movement of people between DRC and neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AfDB said the funding is intended to strengthen preparedness and response capacity across the affected region while helping national authorities contain the outbreak before it spreads further.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The intervention forms part of broader efforts by regional and international partners to support DRC’s health system and improve the ability of neighbouring countries to detect and respond to potential cases quickly.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–AfDB\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40085,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-40084","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $13 million to support efforts to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and prevent its spread to neighbouring countries.","published_date":"","news_description":"The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $13 million to support efforts to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and prevent its spread to neighbouring countries.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40086,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40084\/revisions\/40086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=40084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}