Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The United Nations is releasing around $60 million from an emergency fund to help contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and will deploy more staff, its aid chief said on Friday.
Emergency funding and staffing
Tom Fletcher said on X that the United Nations needs to get ahead of the outbreak. He said operating environments are difficult for lifesaving work and cited conflict and high population movement.
Strain and detection timeline
Experts believe the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine, circulated undetected for around two months in Congo’s Ituri province before being identified last week.
Reported impact
The outbreak has so far resulted in 160 suspected deaths out of 670 suspected cases.
What steps do you think are most important to contain the outbreak in Ituri province?
