Earlier this week, we reported on the humanitarian assistance in the battle against Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo given by the Canadian government.

Since then, more reports of assistance have been rolling in from a variety of places.

UK

Produced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under a very-high magnification, this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts a single filamentous Ebola virus particle that had budded from the surface of a VERO cell of the African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line.
Produced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under a very-high magnification, this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts a single filamentous Ebola virus particle that had budded from the surface of a VERO cell of the African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line.

UK International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced they will be providing £5 million in funding to the World Health Organisation’s response plan. This money will be made available immediately and will support the delivery of a range of WHO activities, including: surveillance, case management, laboratories, coordination, logistics, and operational readiness in neighboring areas.

Three experts from the Department of Health and Social Care’s UK Public Health Rapid Support Team – two epidemiologists and a data scientist – are being deployed to the DRC imminently to assist our partners in tracking the spread of the disease so that it can be tackled quickly and effectively. Laboratory support has also been offered.

World Bank

The World Bank Group’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) Tuesday made its first-ever financial commitment, approving a $12 million grant towards the current Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The grant, approved at an emergency meeting of the PEF Steering Body, will be made from the Cash Window of the PEF. It will support the surge in activities of the DRC Government and international responders outlined under the approved three-month $56.8 million Ebola response plan, released Monday by the DRC Government.

Germany

In order to fight the Ebola epidemic in the Congo, Germany is providing the World Health Organization (WHO ) with 5 million euros for emergency aid in the short term. This was announced by Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn at the World Health Assembly ( WHA ) in Geneva.

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United States

HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the following at the World Health Assembly Tuesday:

Today, on behalf of President Trump, I am pleased to announce that the United States is prepared to provide up to $7 million in additional assistance to respond to the Ebola outbreak. This complements the work of American technical experts deployed to the DRC, and, combined with the $1 million announced last week, brings the U.S. commitment to up to $8 million. I urge all member states to contribute to WHO’s flash appeal to ensure we defeat this outbreak.

Last week, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today that it has provided an initial $1 million to combat the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

These funds, which reflect the U.S. Government’s initial financial response, will go to the World Health Organization (WHO) in support of the joint Government of the DRC and WHO Strategic Response Plan, which will provide technical, operational, and personnel support in response to the Ebola outbreak. The Strategic Plan focuses on prevention, detection, treatment, and response in order to reduce cases and deaths, and prevent the spread of the disease within the DRC and to other countries.

In addition, USAID is coordinating with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the WHO, and partners on the ground on response efforts, and contributing to situational reports, and field activities. USAID is currently providing approximately 2,000 personal protective equipment kits, laboratory materials to confirm diagnostic testing, and technical expertise, while leveraging assistance from the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network on the ground. Furthermore, USAID has mobilized public health experts to serve as surge capacity in this mission.