WHO says it has less than half funding needed to fight Ebola

WHO says it has less than half funding needed to fight Ebola

GENEVA – The World Health Organization has received less than half the funding it ​needs to fight the Ebola outbreak in eastern ‌Democratic Republic of Congo, a WHO official said on Tuesday, urging donors not to abandon the country at a critical ​stage of the epidemic.

The global health agency has received about 40% of its $115 million appeal to tackle the Bundibugyo outbreak, for which there is no proven treatment or vaccine.

At least 1,926 people have been ​infected, and 702 have died, government data show.

A doctor wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) carries medicines and IV fluid bags for patients at the Rwampara Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on July 13, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
Health workers carry a coffin of a suspected Ebola victim from a structure used as a morgue as they prepare for burial at Nyamurongo Cemetery, one month after an outbreak was declared, in Bunia, on June 18, 2026. REUTERS

“This outbreak requires resources that match the scale of the challenges that we are ​facing. And this is not a burden DRC can ​be allowed to carry alone,” Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the WHO’s ‌Health ⁠Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva after a visit to the worst-hit province of Ituri.


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Ihekweazu said the response had reached a critical point, with intensified efforts needed to ​detect and isolate ​patients after ⁠cases spread this week to two new provinces.

“It’s a bit like a marathon. You can’t ​give up after the first lap or ​the second. ⁠You just have to keep pushing even when you’re getting tired and exhausted,” he said.

A hygiene worker disinfects a person’s feet at the entrance to the Rwampara Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia on July 13, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

He repeated estimates that the ⁠true ​number of Ebola cases in ​Congo is at least double, and possibly over four times, the official tally.

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