President Cyril Ramaphosa announces a $5 million contribution to combat the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak affecting Central and East Africa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa will contribute an initial $5 million to support the continental response to the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak currently affecting parts of Central and East Africa.
Addressing a High-Level Meeting of African Ministers of Health convened by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, Ramaphosa warned that the outbreak posed a serious regional threat due to porous borders, insecurity, population movement, and active trade routes in the affected areas.
“Africa is once again being tested by a dangerous Ebola outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, with a serious risk of wider regional spread,” he said.
The South African president, who serves as the African Union Champion on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response, said more than 200 people had already died. He noted that the Africa CDC described this outbreak as the second largest since the 2014 West Africa epidemic.
