Ebola outbreak gets $242m in new US funding

The United States announced on August 5 that it had allocated more than $242 million in additional funding to fight the worsening Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The State Department said the new money brings direct US financial assistance for the response to more than $500 million. It said the United States remained the largest financial contributor to the Ebola response and called on other countries to increase their contributions.

The announcement came as the head of the World Health Organization arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a WHO representative said.

The Democratic Republic of Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15, several weeks after the disease was believed to have begun spreading. WHO warned on Saturday that the outbreak was spreading at an “exceptional pace” and called for the health response to be stepped up.

DRC authorities have reported 3,874 confirmed cases and 1,751 deaths since the outbreak began.

The United States has faced criticism over strict travel restrictions imposed to prevent Ebola entering the country. It has also established a quarantine centre in Kenya for US citizens, a measure challenged in court there.

US authorities have imposed Ebola-related travel restrictions on travellers arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, and prohibit US citizens from travelling directly from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the United States.

The State Department also praised Uganda's measures to contain the outbreak, saying that while the trajectory in the Democratic Republic of Congo remained concerning, Uganda had taken swift action to respond and limit the spread of Ebola.