More than 500 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a result of the ongoing Ebola outbreak, as experts say cuts to international aid have hampered the country from containing the virus.
There have been 1,561 recorded cases of Ebola, including 506 deaths, since the disease’s outbreak was declared on May 15, according to DRC’s Ministry of Health. The World Health Organization deemed the first month of the Ebola outbreak the worst on record, and slowing the virus’s spread has been complicated by the lack of treatments for Bundibugyo, the strain behind the most recent Ebola outbreak.
The International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian aid organization, previously said severe cuts to global aid weakened frontline healthcare and preparedness systems, leaving the Congo with a more fragile health system now than during the 2018-2020 outbreak that killed more than 2,000 individuals.
“The warning signs are flashing red,” Bob Kitchen, vice president of emergencies at IRC, said in a statement. “Increased conflict and cuts to global aid funding have dismantled defenses at exactly the wrong moment. The lesson from every previous outbreak is clear: delays cost lives. The risks are growing and the resources are shrinking; that is the brutal arithmetic facing global aid today.”
