Washington: The US Department of State, in close coordination with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is continuing to mount a rapid and comprehensive response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
According to Emirates News Agency, the US government is working with local governments, NGO implementers, and international organizations to contain the Ebola outbreak at its source. This effort aims to protect the American people and prevent further international spread. On May 27, the Department finalized plans to allocate an additional $80 million in bilateral assistance to key partners on the ground to expand their ongoing response to the Ebola outbreak. With this new commitment, the Department has mobilized more than $112 million in bilateral foreign assistance for the Ebola response in less than two weeks.
These new resources will enable implementing partners to scale up critical response activities such as PPE procurement and delivery, border screening and surveillance, contact tracing, and diagnostics supplies. UNICEF and the World Food Programme are set to enhance the procurement and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect healthcare workers in affected and high-risk areas.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) will improve health screening at regional entry points, including airports and key land and water crossings. They will also increase risk communication and community engagement efforts, as well as enhance surveillance to monitor, detect, and report new cases. Interchurch Medical Assistance (IMA) World Health, World Vision, and UNICEF will focus on expanding contact tracing and community-based surveillance to identify those potentially exposed to Ebola and prevent further spread.
FHI 360 will work on increasing the procurement and distribution of test kits and supporting the safe transportation of samples to improve the detection and identification of Ebola cases. This will inform response activities and reporting.
In addition to the $112 million in bilateral foreign assistance, the State Department has committed $50 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to fund up to 50 Ebola response clinics in affected areas. Responders have been deployed to dozens of health facilities in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu in the DRC to improve the capacity of Ebola treatment centers and transit units.
Furthermore, the Department is providing $300 million through OCHA pooled funds to the DRC and Uganda for broader humanitarian efforts in the affected region.