GENEVA, Switzerland: The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a joint Ebola response plan today, requiring USD518 million (about RM2.05 billion) to contain a rapidly expanding outbreak in Congo and prevent further regional spread.
WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking after returning from the outbreak’s epicentre in Ituri province, said responders were still “playing catch-up” as the virus continues to spread, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
“The outbreak is moving fast,” Tedros told a hybrid joint press briefing, adding that the response must be driven by government leadership, community ownership, and close coordination among partners.
The joint preparedness and response plan, developed by WHO, Africa CDC, and partners, is based on the principle of “one plan, one budget, one team” and covers emergency coordination, surveillance, laboratory testing, infection prevention, clinical care, community engagement, research, and logistics.
Tedros said the time-bound plan for this year cost USD518 million.
Africa CDC’s Director-General, Jean Kaseya, said the outbreak has reached 397 confirmed cases and 63 deaths, with more than 5,009 contacts under follow-up. He put the case fatality risk at around 15.9 per cent.
Eleven countries are considered at risk. Since the outbreak was declared on May 15, it has expanded from one province and three health zones to three provinces in Congo and 26 affected health zones in Congo, Kaseya explained.
“This is showing that the outbreak is moving, with the epicentre still in Ituri, where we have more than 90 per cent of all cases and 70 per cent of deaths,” he stressed.
Kaseya described the current Bundibugyo outbreak as “the most serious” of the three recorded outbreaks caused by that strain and the “fourth-largest” Ebola outbreak by confirmed cases. If infections continue to rise, it could become the third largest, he said.
Officials cited misinformation, insecurity, and high population mobility as major challenges. Tedros warned that “misinformation is almost as dangerous as the virus itself,” while Kaseya said some communities questioned why vaccines and treatments remain unavailable after nearly two decades of Ebola outbreaks.
Kaseya said that partners had pledged nearly USD498 million (about RM 1.976 billion) but warned that little of the funding had yet reached affected countries, urging commitments to be converted into actual disbursement. – BERNAMA-ANADOLU
