World Bank announces $93M to reinforce Ebola response in Africa

The World Bank has announced $93 million in new funding to strengthen the Ebola response in the African region as the Democratic Republic of Congo battles to contain the current outbreak, according to a statement Wednesday.

The statement said $80 million would strengthen disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, clinical case management, infection prevention and control, and community engagement in affected areas in Congo.

“Health emergencies don’t wait and neither did we,” said World Bank Division Director for Congo Albert Zeufack.

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Congo has reached 9,066, including 4,381 deaths, since the outbreak declaration in May, according to the latest Health Ministry update.

The epidemic has affected seven provinces: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele, Tshopo and South Ubangi.

Financing will also help sustain maternal and child health services in Ituri, the epicenter of the disease, so that the outbreak does not increase risks for women and newborns.

It will also help protect livelihoods in affected communities and enable children to continue attending school safely, according to the statement.

Across the region, $13 million in additional financing would strengthen emergency preparedness, response and resilience in 11 regional countries through the Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience program, said the bank.

In May, after the Ebola outbreak was declared in Congo and Uganda, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned that 10 African countries were at high risk of the outbreak, including South Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, Zambia, the Central African Republic, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, the Republic of the Congo and Burundi.

While Uganda has been declared Ebola-free, Kenya last week reported its first imported case from Congo.

The World Bank Group has committed $426.6 million to the overall Ebola emergency response to date, through a combination of existing and new grant and concessional financing.