The Ebola epidemic continues to grow in Ituri and North Kivu provinces in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with more than 900 suspected cases and 220 deaths so far.
The World Health Organization (WHO) fears that the virus will continue to spread in the DRC.
“We are facing an extremely serious and difficult outbreak. It will get worse before it gets better,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week.
The global health body wants to provide assistance on the ground as quickly as possible by sending equipment and medical experts.
However, WHO’s funds are limited, especially since the US withdrew from the organization. It was the single largest contributor to the Global Health Organization. This reduction in funding forced WHO to reduce and even cut some programs, including those in the DRC.
Although Germany is currently the largest donor to the WHO, it has reduced its contributions. It has also cut the budget of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) this year.
“The 2026 budget shows that all funds allocated to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have been withdrawn,” said Julia Stauffner, a health policy expert at the German Protestant aid organization Braut für die Welt.
These budget cuts include voluntary contributions to WHO. Stauffner told DW that the BMZ has been cutting back funding for health care programs for years: “When health systems in the global South become weak or no longer supported, this contributes to outbreaks like the one in DRC that go unnoticed for too long before becoming apparent.”
CARE, another humanitarian relief agency, has also urged the international community to invest more in aid and education. Catholic welfare organization Caritas has published a similar appeal.
Insufficient funds to fight Ebola
Josue Ibulungu runs the office of the German disaster relief organization Diakonie in Goma, the capital of North Tivu province in eastern DRC. He said he was trying to arrange help for people in the Ebola outbreak area, but only 30% of the demand had been met.
“The situation is very difficult for all humanitarian aid workers, with funding cuts from many donors making the situation much more difficult. Organizations are also struggling to find the money to make Ebola vaccination possible,” he told DW.
“Many hospitals have been destroyed because of the war,” Ibulungu said. “This makes it very difficult for doctors and nurses to help Ebola patients because they lack the necessary equipment.” Government troops, militias, rebels and criminal gangs have been fighting for dominance over eastern DRC for decades. Tensions arise from the desire to control natural resources, ethnic conflicts, and the geopolitical interests of Rwanda and Uganda.
Germany’s BMZ said the DRC government has received about €160 million in development assistance scheduled for 2026 and 2027. This is less than the amount provided in previous years, as the BMZ’s budget has been reduced for several years in a row.
Disease prevention is not a single BMZ budget item but is addressed through a variety of programs, ministry spokesman Benedict Schönke said on Wednesday: “Looking to the future, it is clear that cuts in prevention support will certainly have a corresponding impact.”
He also said Germany was providing “massive funds” to create financial security for international initiatives in the coming years, yet failed to provide any concrete figures. Schönke said that while funds have been reduced, the BMZ remains committed to providing reliable assistance in pandemic prevention. The ministry wants to send a group of experts to eastern DRC to train additional aid workers on the ground, or establish a group in the region.
Need to increase support
Bread for the World is urging a massive funding boost to respond to the Ebola epidemic. Stauffner told DW that the 500 protective suits pledged by BMZ are insufficient.
“Funding for global health efforts should be increased overall,” he said. “Civil society organizations at the grassroots level must be strengthened, as these are the people who know the needs and areas best. They have access to and trust the communities. The local population is vital to stopping this outbreak, especially as there are no vaccines.”
The Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is neither a vaccine nor a cure, is widespread in eastern DRC. Gisela Schneider of the German Institute for Medical Missions, a Christian aid organization focused on global health, predicted it would take at least nine months to develop a vaccine for this variant. Right now, there is an immediate shortage of rapid testing kits and laboratories to detect and track the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain.
Former German Health Minister Carl Lauterbach, who was in office during the COVID-19 pandemic, is also calling for increased development aid to deal with the pandemic. He said fighting the spread of the pandemic on the African continent is not only a humanitarian necessity, but also in Europe’s own interest.
“The destruction of health care systems could lead to a large influx of refugees from African countries into Europe,” Lauterbach told the German daily. rhenish post. He said calls by right-wing populists for further cuts in development aid were wrong and could lead to a “backlash”.
This article was originally written in German.