The World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced a $518 million emergency response plan on Friday aimed at containing the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The plan, which runs through November, covers emergency coordination, surveillance, testing, infection prevention, clinical care and community outreach.
It came as the DRC’s Ministry of Health reported 71 new confirmed cases in a single 24-hour stretch this week, bringing the country’s confirmed total to at least 452 cases and 82 deaths. Uganda confirmed three additional cases on Friday, putting its total at 19 confirmed cases and two deaths.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week that health officials were “catching up” with the virus, even as he acknowledged it had a “big head start.” Tedros also pushed back against blanket travel bans put in place by some countries, warning that they could discourage transparency and disrupt the response.
Frustrations also remain over U.S. plans to open a controversial Ebola isolation facility in Kenya. Proposals to establish a 50-bed quarantine facility for U.S. citizens affected by the outbreak in DRC have provoked a public backlash in Kenya, although the country’s president, William Ruto, said the plan was safe. Two people were reportedly killed last week amid a protest close to the Laikipia Air Base, where the facility is due to be placed.
Kenya’s high court temporarily blocked the quarantine facility, citing public health concerns. Some U.S. health experts have also criticized the plan after the Trump administration said it was determined to ensure the virus did not cross U.S. borders.
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