International aid cuts complicate Congo's Ebola epidemic

Published 7 June 2026 · health

The scaling back of development aid has contributed to the inability to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. German organizations are

The scaling back of development aid has contributed to the inability to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. German organizations are calling for a major spending boost to help stop the spread. The Ebola epidemic continues to grow in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with more than 900 suspected cases and 220 deaths so far. The World Health Organization (WHO) fears that the virus will keep continue to spread in 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 help on the ground as quickly as possible by sending equipment and medical experts. The WHO's funds, however, are limited, especially since the US withdrew from the body. It was the single largest contributor to the global health organization. This shortfall in funding forced the WHO to reduce and even cut certain programs, including in DRC. Although Germany is currently the largest donor to the WHO, it has reduced its contributions. It has also cut back the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development's (BMZ) budget this year. "The 2026 budget shows that all funds allocated to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have been scaled back," said Julia Stoffner, a health policy expert at the German Protestant aid organization Brot für die Welt.

Global health care expert Julia Stoffner criticizes that aid budgets have been cut Image: Bernd Riegert/DW These budget cuts include voluntary contributions to the WHO. The BMZ has been dialing back funding for health care programs for years, Stoffner tells DW: "When health systems in the global south become weaker and weaker or are no longer supported, this contributes to outbreaks like the one in the DRC going unnoticed for a very long time before becoming apparent." CARE, another humanitarian relief agency, has also urged the international community to invest more in aid and education. Caritas, a Catholic welfare organization, has published a similar appeal. Insufficient funds to fight Ebola Josue Ibulungu runs the office of German disaster relief organization Diakonie in Goma, the capital of North Tivu Province, in eastern DRC. He is trying to organize help for those in the Ebola outbreak region but said only 30% of the demand can met. "The situation is very difficult for all humanitarian aid workers, funding cuts from many donors make the situation very difficult. Organizations are even struggling to find funds to make Ebola vaccinations possible," he told DW. Josue Ibulungu says health care workers and doctors on the ground are under immense pressure Image: Kerem Uzel/Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe "Many hospitals have been destroyed by the war," Ibulungu added. "This makes it very hard for doctors and nurses to help Ebola patients because they lack the necessary equipment." Government troops, militias, insurgents and criminal gangs have been fighting for dominance over eastern DRC for decades.