The United States on Wednesday announced an additional funding package of more than $242 million to strengthen efforts to combat the Ebola outbreak, which has seen a resurgence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In a statement, the U.S. Department of State said the funding is part of Washington’s commitment, made during the G7 Leaders’ Summit on June 16, to provide up to $500 million in additional support for the global response to the disease.
With this latest contribution, direct U.S. assistance for Ebola response efforts now exceeds $512 million. According to U.S. authorities, the funding will enable partner organizations to expand their operations on the ground across Africa.
The new allocation comes in addition to the $350 million already earmarked for emergency humanitarian assistance in the DRC, South Sudan and Uganda under a broader $1.8 billion package announced in May for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The State Department said the additional resources will strengthen cooperation among governments, humanitarian organizations and private-sector partners to ensure a coordinated and effective response to the outbreak. It also reaffirmed that the United States remains the world’s largest financial contributor to the fight against Ebola.
Washington also called on other international donors to step up their financial support in order to reinforce the global response to the spread of the virus.
At the same time, the United States praised Uganda’s swift response to the outbreak, saying the measures adopted by the Ugandan authorities had helped contain the spread of the disease despite the continuing concern over the situation in the DRC.
Alongside the financial assistance, U.S. authorities have maintained Ebola-related travel restrictions affecting travelers arriving from the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan. American citizens currently in the DRC are also prohibited from returning directly to the United States.