The European Commission will provide €1.8 million in humanitarian aid to support the ongoing response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The funding brings the total EU response to Ebola so far in 2018 to € 3.43 million. “Since the current Ebola outbreak was declared on 8 May 2018, the EU has immediately supported the efforts of the World Health Organisation and the national authorities to contain the spread of the disease. Previous outbreaks taught us a valuable lesson: we cannot be complacent with Ebola. We cannot let our guard down. This is why today I am strengthening our EU support. This funding will help our humanitarian partners and the authorities to fight and contain the further spread of Ebola,” said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management and EU Ebola Coordinator Christos Stylianides.

The EU aid will support the coordination and logistical operations of the ongoing response, control and prevention of infections, surveillance of exit/entry points of Ebola-affected areas and safe burials. It will also provide general support to primary health centres in the affected areas. The funding is part of overall EU support for the outbreak, which includes the activation of EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, whereby an isolation system was deployed from Norway to transport quarantined patients in need of specialised treatment. The European Commission’s humanitarian air service ECHO Flight is also providing a shuttle service from Kinshasa to transport personnel and medical supplies to the affected areas.