The United States (U.S.) announced on Wednesday (the 10th) an additional $20 million in funding to support the response to the Ebola outbreak in Africa, bringing the total amount of direct U.S. aid to over $220 million.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of State, the funds are intended to strengthen preparedness efforts in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan, including support for national emergency operations centers, as well as epidemiological surveillance, testing, border screening, and infection prevention and control activities.
The funding will also help these countries distribute essential supplies and ensure the treatment and management of patients infected with the Ebola virus.
On Monday, the African Union’s health agency (Africa CDC) announced €11.5 million in support from the European Union (EU) to combat the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
On that occasion, Africa CDC Director Jean Kaseya described “the partnership with the European Union as respectful and unconditional, the kind of partnership the continent needs,” according to the document cited by Reuters.
The most recent Ebola epidemic, which was declared following the first outbreak on May 15, is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, unlike the Zaire virus, which was responsible for most of the 16 previous outbreaks of the disease in the Congo.
