The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have launched a $518 million response plan to combat a growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring Uganda as infections continue to rise.
The initiative, announced on Friday, will run from June through November and focuses on emergency coordination, surveillance, laboratory testing, infection prevention, clinical care, community engagement, research, and logistics.
The plan comes as health authorities work to contain an outbreak first declared in the DRC on May 15 that has since expanded across multiple regions.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the joint strategy is built around coordinated action among governments, communities, and international partners.
The program follows a "one plan, one budget, one team" approach designed to strengthen outbreak control measures and preparedness across the region.
Tedros said the objective is to stop transmission in affected areas while ensuring neighboring countries can rapidly detect and respond to any new cases.
Officials said the response will address challenges including misinformation, insecurity, and high population mobility, all of which have complicated containment efforts.
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya also urged donors to convert financial pledges into direct support for affected countries, noting that much of the promised funding has yet to be disbursed.
According to health officials, the outbreak has spread from one province and three health zones to three provinces and 26 affected health zones in the DRC.
Africa CDC reported nearly 400 confirmed cases and more than 60 deaths, while over 5,000 contacts remain under monitoring.
Uganda reported three additional cases and one more death, bringing its total to 19 cases and two deaths.
Officials warned that 11 countries are considered at risk of potential spread.
The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine currently exists, although several vaccine candidates are being prepared for accelerated trials.
Kaseya described the current event as the most serious Bundibugyo outbreak recorded and warned that continued transmission could make it one of the largest Ebola outbreaks on record.