WHO says it has less than half funding needed to fight Ebola

GENEVA – The World Health Organization has received less than half the funding it ​needs to fight the Ebola outbreak in eastern ‌Democratic Republic of Congo, a WHO official said on Tuesday, urging donors not to abandon the country at a critical ​stage of the epidemic.

The global health agency has received about 40% of its $115 million appeal to tackle the Bundibugyo outbreak, for which there is no proven treatment or vaccine.

At least 1,926 people have been ​infected, and 702 have died, government data show.

“This outbreak requires resources that match the scale of the challenges that we are ​facing. And this is not a burden DRC can ​be allowed to carry alone,” Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the WHO’s ‌Health ⁠Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva after a visit to the worst-hit province of Ituri.

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Ihekweazu said the response had reached a critical point, with intensified efforts needed to ​detect and isolate ​patients after ⁠cases spread this week to two new provinces.

“It’s a bit like a marathon. You can’t ​give up after the first lap or ​the second. ⁠You just have to keep pushing even when you’re getting tired and exhausted,” he said.

He repeated estimates that the ⁠true ​number of Ebola cases in ​Congo is at least double, and possibly over four times, the official tally.