The European Union has announced an additional €5 million in funding to support efforts to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as European Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib visited the region on Sunday.
Speaking after arriving at Bunia airport in Ituri province, a key logistics hub for the Ebola response, Lahbib said the funding would be used to establish regional diagnostic centres in the provinces most affected by the outbreak.
The announcement comes as the Ebola epidemic continues to accelerate across central Africa. Nearly 500 cases have now been confirmed, according to the World Health Organization, which has declared the crisis an international public health emergency.
"The European Union takes this emergency very seriously," Lahbib said. "As soon as the outbreak began, we sprang into action and were on the ground very quickly to step up our support, and that commitment continues today."
The commissioner said the new funding would help provide faster and more reliable testing in areas where the virus is spreading, allowing health authorities to identify and isolate cases more quickly.
