UN Emergency Fund gives US$2 million to fight Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

(New York, 11 May 2018) Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, has announced an immediate $2 million allocation from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help humanitarian partners in the DRC fight and contain a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD).

“We know that coordinated early response will be critical containing this outbreak. This CERF allocation will help our humanitarian partners to deliver vital services to people in affected communities and to stop the spread of the virus,” said ERC Lowcock.

The ERC approved the CERF Rapid Response allocation within 48 hours of the Government of the DRC declaring the new EVD outbreak in Bikoro in Equateur Province on 8 May.

The $2 million from CERF will help UN Agencies and partners kick-start the immediate response in support of the Government. Urgent activities include critical health action such as surveillance, treatment, community mobilization and sensitization, safe and dignified burials, and supporting logistics services.

According to the World Health Organization, this is DRC’s ninth outbreak of EVD since the discovery of the virus in the country in 1976.

For further information, please contact:

Claudia Hargarten, UNOCHA: hargarten@un.org, Tel. +1-917-207-3925