The head of the World Health Organization said he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed” of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was already grappling with a significant aid shortfall.
Authorities in Kinshasa have reported at least 131 deaths and 500 suspected cases, though cases have also been confirmed in Kampala, the capital of neighboring Uganda. Response efforts in the DRC have been hindered by budget strains at the WHO — which the US left this year — as well as sudden Western aid cuts to Africa.
A roiling conflict in eastern DRC is compounding matters: “This outbreak is hitting a country already stretched to breaking point,” Oxfam said.