The United States government has committed Ksh1.68 billion ($13 million) toward emergency Ebola response efforts in DR Congo and Uganda.
In a statement on Wednesday, May 20, the United States Department of State said it moved swiftly after learning of the confirmed Ebola cases.
"On May 15, 2026, within 24 hours of learning of the confirmed cases, the Department leveraged its outbreak response and humanitarian assistance capabilities to establish an interagency coordination cell and incident management system in Washington, D.C. Embassies in the DRC, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda have joined this group and established monitoring groups to track developments and communicate with American citizens in the region," the statement read.
The department said the response escalated rapidly within two days of the outbreak confirmation.
"Within 48 hours, the Department activated a response plan and mobilized an initial $13 million in foreign assistance for immediate response efforts," the statement added.
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According to the statement, the latest funding adds to previous American investments in disease surveillance systems and emergency outbreak response partnerships signed with both Uganda and the DRC.
"This funding builds on U.S. investments in disease surveillance and outbreak detection, and response efforts made through bilateral health MOUs signed with both the DRC and Uganda under the America First Global Health Strategy," the statement continued.
The U.S. government further announced plans to support the establishment of up to 50 treatment clinics in affected regions to help strengthen screening and containment measures.
"The United States is committing to rapidly supporting the Ebola outbreak response by funding up to 50 treatment clinics, and associated frontline costs being established in Ebola-affected regions of the DRC and Uganda.
"These rapidly deployed clinics will provide emergency Ebola screening, triage, and isolation capacity," the statement further read.
The State Department noted that rapid containment efforts remain critical in preventing the virus from spreading beyond the affected regions.
"We know from previous outbreak response that ensuring partners rapidly scale up containment and treatment efforts in the affected regions is the most critical variable to ensuring an effective response and that the disease does not spread," the statement read.
According to the department, funding will largely be channeled through United Nations-managed emergency response systems.
"The United States will deliver this funding primarily via Central Emergency Response Funds (CERF) pooled funding vehicles administered by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), building upon our landmark partnership with OCHA to deliver life-saving assistance faster, more efficiently, and more accountable," the statement noted.
This comes a day after the United States issued a travel warning to its citizens, advising against travel to three African countries over concerns linked to the Ebola Bundibugyo Virus disease outbreak in the region.
In an advisory on Tuesday, May 19, the US Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs warned Americans against travelling to DR Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda.
On the other hand, travel to Rwanda was downgraded to a reconsideration level.
"The Department of State strongly urges Americans not to travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, or Uganda for any reason and to reconsider travel to Rwanda due to the Ebola Bundibugyo Virus disease outbreak in the region," the department said.
The US government explained that the affected countries had been assigned new travel advisory levels due to the severity of the situation and associated risks.
"The Department’s Travel Advisories for DRC, South Sudan, and Uganda are now Level 4 - Do Not Travel, and the Travel Advisory for Rwanda is Level 3 - Reconsider Travel," the department added.
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