The White House is seeking more than $1.4 billion in emergency funding from Congress to address the widening Ebola outbreak linked to the Democratic Republic of Congo, as France has confirmed its first case associated with the current outbreak.
According to U.S. officials, the proposed funding package includes $800 million for humanitarian crisis response, which will support the establishment of a quarantine centre in Kenya for Americans exposed to the virus, as well as the provision of medical supplies, treatment, contact tracing, regional logistics and infection control measures.
Another $500 million is being requested for global health security initiatives aimed at preventing the spread of the virus to the United States. The funds will support disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, cross-border coordination and partnerships with international organisations and the private sector.
An additional $90 million has been earmarked for diplomatic efforts, including the evacuation and transportation of infected U.S. citizens to treatment facilities.
The request comes as France confirmed its first Ebola case after a doctor who recently returned from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo tested positive for the virus. The case is the first linked to the current outbreak to be confirmed in Europe.
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The ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is associated with the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus and has infected more than 1,000 people, claiming at least 267 lives.
Uganda has also recorded Ebola cases, with the World Health Organisation confirming that 20 people have been infected and two deaths reported.
Despite the spread of the disease, French health authorities have described the risk to the general population as very low, while World Health Organisation Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that the global risk remains low and urged people not to panic.
Health officials in France have begun tracing individuals who may have come into contact with the infected doctor, while a dedicated monitoring system has been established for aid workers returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Public health experts have warned that the current outbreak has the potential to become one of the largest Ebola outbreaks in history, particularly as there is currently no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
