DRC: UN Releases $1.5m To Aid Combat Ebola

By Staff Writer

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday August 27 received US $1.5 million from the United Nations (UN) to help combat the Ebola virus; just days after the country confirmed its first cases this year.

UN mission in the central African country said that amount could double in the near future, with the money being released from a fund set aside to meet "humanitarian needs" around the globe.

Last week the DRC government said 13 people had died with symptoms of haemorrhagic fever and performed tests on dozens of others who had come into contact with the victims.

Two cases tested positive on Sunday August 24, but the government claimed they were unrelated to the epidemic currently ravaging West Africa region.

This recent outbreak of the virus is the seventh in DRC, since it was first identified in 1976 along Ebola River.

DRC’s Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi said the outbreak was "contained" in the area near Jera, more than 1 200km northeast of the Congolese capital.

WHO, in partnership with the Ministries of Health in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria have reported 2615 suspect and confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease, including 1528 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 1427 deaths.

Guinea accounts for 607 cases, including 443 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 406 deaths; Liberia 1082 clinical cases, including 269 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 624 deaths; Sierra Leone, 910 suspect and confirmed cases, including 804 laboratory-confirmed cases, 392 deaths and Nigeria 16 suspect cases, including 12 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 5 deaths.