World Bank says responding to Ebola outbreak, plans to increase funding

Key Takeaways

• The World Bank has dispatched staff and resources to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to respond to the Ebola outbreak and is putting ​together a financing package to ensure more funding can be made available rapidly, ⁠a top bank official said.
• Monique Vledder, who heads the World Bank's global health department, told Reuters that the bank was also very concerned about neighbouring states, South Sudan and Burundi, which have weak healthcare response systems.
• Uganda, which has reported two Ebola cases, has a strong public health system but also faced some financing gaps, she added.
• Vledder gave no immediate details on the size of the financing package being prepared, but it was clear that more funding would be needed ⁠in coming months.
• The DRC has an existing $250 million health project with the World ⁠Bank that was approved in March 2024 to help the Central African country detect and respond to disease outbreaks and other emergencies.