The United States announces it is releasing an additional $267 million to support efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The funding is announced on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with the State Department saying the US is already the largest provider of assistance for the latest outbreak.
According to the US statement, the US government has provided $887 million in direct health and humanitarian support to respond to the epidemic. The announcement also urges other capable nations to increase “burden sharing” given the urgency of the situation. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres previously called for an additional $1.1 billion in aid to help address the outbreak.
The disease continues to spread to new areas of the DRC, including areas highlighted by Doctors Without Borders as the epidemic reaches additional parts of the country. Congolese public health officials, as cited by one outlet, report the outbreak has killed more than 3,600 people and infected about 7,500 since mid-May, describing it as the worst recorded Ebola epidemic in the DRC.
Other coverage focuses mainly on the additional $267 million announcement and the continuing expansion of cases across new parts of the DRC, without adding further figures.
