The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has raised concerns over more than $700 million in Ebola response funding that remains unaccounted for in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), citing inadequate financial disclosures by international aid organisations.
The Director-General of Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya, disclosed this during a press conference in Kinshasa, with the agency reiterating its concerns in a statement issued on Thursday.
According to Kaseya, international donors disbursed approximately $962 million directly to organisations implementing Ebola response programmes in Congo, but only about 30% provided financial information during a recent verification exercise.
Africa CDC questions Ebola fund transparency
Kaseya clarified that the funding discrepancy did not necessarily indicate embezzlement but highlighted significant transparency and financial reporting failures that prevented authorities from determining how donor resources were allocated and spent.
He explained that organisations participating in the verification exercise disclosed approximately $220 million, including $120 million already spent and $100 million yet to be utilised.
Congo’s Health Minister, Samuel-Roger Kamba, also echoed these concerns in a post on X on Thursday, revealing that much of the international funding had bypassed government accounts.
- “The funds mobilized by donors for the Ebola response are directly transferred to international partners (implementing agencies). To date, the Congolese Government has only been able to trace 220,000,000 USD,” he stated.
Kamba explained that the government had introduced an accreditation requirement through the National Public Health Institute (INSP), compelling organisations to disclose their funding sources, programme objectives and progress before undertaking Ebola response activities.
- “Over the past few weeks, all implementing partners have received the form to fill out to provide this information. Only about 22% of them have completed the form.”
Meanwhile, Kaseya warned that organisations failing to comply with the disclosure requirements could lose their authorisation to operate in Congo, with their names potentially shared with health authorities across Africa.
Donors pledge millions for Ebola response
The concerns over unaccounted funding come despite substantial international financial commitments to combat the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa.
African governments, development partners and international health organisations have announced several funding commitments and emergency response plans to support outbreak containment and preparedness across affected and high-risk countries.
- In May, Nairametrics reported that African governments and development partners had secured approximately $498.8 million in pledges and commitments to strengthen Ebola response efforts across affected and high-risk countries, as fatalities reached 220.
- In June, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced a $518 million six-month emergency response plan targeting outbreaks in Congo and Uganda, alongside preparedness measures in neighbouring countries.
- By late September, the United States had announced an additional $267 million in funding to support containment efforts in Central Africa, bringing its total commitments to $886 million.
These announcements reflect the scale of international financial support mobilised to combat the outbreak across Central Africa.
Ebola outbreak raises regional health concerns
The concerns over Ebola funding come as the outbreak continues to spread beyond Congo, where more than 4,300 deaths had been reported by mid-October.
The situation has heightened public health concerns across the region, with Kenya recording imported infections and Nigeria strengthening its preparedness measures amid fears of potential cross-border transmission.
- On October 6, Kenya confirmed its first imported Ebola case after a citizen returning from Congo tested positive for the virus and died in Nairobi. Kenya’s Health Minister, Aden Duale, confirmed the incident, prompting intensified surveillance and contact tracing. The country subsequently recorded a second infection involving a close relative of the deceased patient.
- The confirmation of Ebola cases in Kenya highlights the risk of cross-border transmission, raising concerns for other African countries, including Nigeria, where authorities have intensified preventive measures to guard against imported infections.
- In June, President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats, alongside N10 billion in emergency funding to strengthen the country’s response capacity.
The decision followed an announcement by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) in May that the country had recorded no confirmed Ebola cases despite the worsening outbreak in Central Africa.