UN releases USD 40 milliion to fight Ebola outbreak in Congo

The announcement comes as DRC Health Minister Eteni Longondo said on June 1 that a new Ebola outbreak had been reported in the city of Mbandaka in the country's northwest.
Health workers treating an Ebola victim. ( File Photo | AP)
Health workers treating an Ebola victim. ( File Photo | AP)

UNITED NATIONS: UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock released a total of $40 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the fight against Ebola outbreak.

"UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock today released US$40 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help tackle health emergencies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," the press service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

The announcement comes as DRC Health Minister Eteni Longondo said on June 1 that a new Ebola outbreak had been reported in the city of Mbandaka in the country's northwest.

In April, the country was expected to declare the end of the Ebola epidemic.

However, more than 50 days after the region's last Ebola patient recovered on March 27, a new case was reported in the eastern region of Kivu.

The epidemic began in summer 2018 and has claimed over 2,200 lives.

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