The European Union has announced fresh support for Africa’s Ebola response as confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda continue to rise, putting renewed pressure on health systems in a conflict-hit region.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Tuesday that the European Commission had allocated €17.5 million ($20.1 million) to support ongoing efforts to contain the outbreak.
The pledge was announced after Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya met the European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, for talks on the Ebola response and broader African Union-European Union health cooperation.
“The European Commission reaffirmed its strong support to Africa CDC by allocating 17.5 million euro to support the Ebola response. We thank the EU for this timely and concrete support,” Mr Kaseya said, according to Africa CDC.
However, a separate statement by the European Union Delegation to the African Union said the EU had renewed a €11.5 million commitment to Africa CDC’s Ebola response.
