The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has raised concerns over more than $700 million in donor funds for Ebola response activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) that remain unaccounted for....
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has raised concerns over more than $700 million in donor funds for Ebola response activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) that remain unaccounted for.
Africa CDC Director-General, Dr Jean Kaseya, said the lack of adequate financial information from organisations involved in the response had created a major transparency and reporting problem.
Kaseya told Reuters on Thursday that it was too early to conclude that the money had been embezzled, but warned that authorities lacked a clear picture of how much funding had been mobilised and spent.
According to him, international donors have disbursed about $962 million to organisations implementing Ebola response activities in DR Congo, rather than directly to the government.
However, only about one-third of the implementing partners attended a recent meeting convened by the Congolese health ministry to provide details of their finances.
The organisations that participated reported receiving $228 million, of which $127 million had been spent, leaving approximately $100 million available.
The figures leave a substantial portion of the reported donor funding without corresponding financial information from implementing organisations.
Congo’s Health Minister, Samuel-Roger Kamba, also called for greater accountability in a post on X on Thursday, saying aid organisations were required to disclose their funding sources, objectives and levels of implementation to his ministry.
Kaseya warned that organisations failing to comply with the reporting requirements could be barred from operating in DR Congo and blacklisted across Africa.
The concerns come as health authorities work to contain an Ebola outbreak, with mistrust of health workers and response agencies remaining a major obstacle.
Previous Ebola responses in DR Congo have been marred by allegations of favouritism and corruption, raising concerns that the latest funding controversy could further undermine public confidence in the response.
The Africa CDC’s intervention highlights the need for transparent financial reporting to ensure that resources provided by international donors reach the activities and communities they are intended to support.