United Nations agencies have stepped up support for more countries as Ebola outbreak worsens, allocating funds to Burundi and South Sudan to respond if Ebola cases are confirmed.
UN spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said this on Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York while giving update on Ebola outbreak at a news conference.
Dujarric said OCHA Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher had allocated $8 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, or CERF, to strengthen both countries’ capacity to respond if Ebola cases were confirmed.
“Although, no Ebola cases have been confirmed in either country, the risk remains high due to frequent crossings of their borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Burundi and South Sudan have activated national preparedness and response plans for Ebola.
“Our colleagues at OCHA tell us that the $8 million in CERF funding will be used to bolster surveillance, laboratory capacity, case management, and infection prevention and control.
“It will strengthen readiness to detect, investigate and contain the Ebola Virus Disease while protecting health workers, maintaining essential health services and preventing community transmission.
“Since the Ebola outbreak was declared in the DRC in mid-May, more than 51,000 people have received food assistance.
“But the UN and its partners have not received the necessary humanitarian response funding in 2026 in the DRC and South Sudan,’’ he said.
According to him, as South Sudan continues to grapple with a major humanitarian emergency, OHCA reiterates its call for donors to increase support for life-saving humanitarian assistance.
He further said that UN system led by the Resident Coordinator in Uganda, Leonard Zulu was building on the 3.5 million dollars repurposed in May, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, or CERF, allocated an additional US$4 million.
The allocation is to support surveillance, laboratory capacity, case management, infection prevention and control, logistics, emergency protection, and risk communication and community engagement.
Source: NAN
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