Ebola: Two-thirds of pledged funds yet to reach response teams
Two-thirds of the money pledged to fight the Ebola outbreak has yet to arrive.
Two-thirds of the money pledged to fight the Ebola outbreak has yet to arrive, Africa CDC Director General Dr Jean Kaseya has warned. He cautioned that every day of delay puts families and frontline health workers at risk.
The warning comes weeks after a pledging moment that Africa CDC welcomed as historic. On September 24, the agency said about US$2.9 billion (about Ksh377 billion) had been mobilised at the G20+ Foreign Ministers Meeting, convened by the United States on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The money is for the response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and neighbouring countries.
The United States was the largest single contributor, at roughly US$878 million (Ksh114.14 billion). It was followed by the European Union, the World Bank, the Pandemic Fund, African countries and other partners. Dr Kaseya said at the time that about US$800 million (Ksh104 billion) of the total was new money.
“This outbreak reminds us that health security is shared. For the first time, Ebola has reached three African regions. Yet two-thirds of the pledged response funds are still pending. Every day of delay puts more families and frontline health workers at risk. I’m working closely with African leaders to ensure safe access for health teams, especially in conflict zones. We must act now, together, to stop the spread,” said Dr Kaseya on Monday.
He has since insisted that the focus must shift from pledges to delivery. Africa CDC has set up a financial tracking mechanism. Audits carried out with Congolese authorities reportedly found gaps, where significant disbursed aid could not be verified on the ground. The agency has warned that international NGOs and aid partners that cannot trace their funds from pledge to frontline risk being blacklisted across African Union member states.
For Kenya, which borders Uganda and sits on the regional travel routes the outbreak touches, the delay in funds matters beyond the affected countries. The Ministry of Health says Kenya’s own response is holding. However, it relies on a regional effort that is still short of money.
On October 27, Dr Kaseya announced that the agency had mobilised about US$1.5 million (about Ksh194 million) in financial, technical and operational support for Kenya. This includes the deployment of 10 African public health experts, the supply of laboratory reagents and diagnostic test kits, and support for surveillance, contact tracing, case management and community engagement.
The agency is also providing equipment valued at about US$350,000 (about Ksh45 million) to strengthen Kenya’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, which coordinates responses to public health emergencies.
“Africa’s health security is a shared responsibility. Kenya’s leadership and containment efforts demonstrate the importance of decisive national action, while Africa CDC’s support reflects the power of African solidarity. Together, we can contain outbreaks, protect lives and build a healthier, safer and more resilient continent,” said Dr Kaseya.
In an October 31 statement, the Ministry of Health said no new Ebola cases had been reported since October 19. Of the seven patients who tested positive and are in isolation, five have tested negative for the first time after completing treatment. A second test was scheduled for Monday, November 2.
If the results hold, the Ministry said it is optimistic the five will go home on Tuesday, November 3, together with another 46 quarantined contacts who have not developed symptoms. Twenty other contacts were released from quarantine earlier.
“This clearly demonstrates that our response is holding and will soon deliver spectacular results,” the Ministry said.
Health officials and Africa CDC have both stressed that containment in one country does not remove the risk while the outbreak continues elsewhere on the continent. This is why the unpaid pledges cannot wait.
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