The European Commission is allocating an extra €15 million in humanitarian aid to support the response to an Ebola outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
The funding will support emergency operations in affected areas, as well as preparedness and prevention efforts, the Commission said in a statement on Friday night.
A European Union Humanitarian Air Bridge flight organised with UNICEF is due to depart next week to carry nearly 100 tonnes of supplies to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, including medicines, protective equipment, infection-control materials, tents and operational equipment for frontline teams.
The EU has allocated €101.9 million for emergency humanitarian support in the region in 2026.
Vaccine and treatment work
EU support already in place before the outbreak helped identify the virus strain, strengthen Ebola tracking, and speed up testing and genetic sequencing with African partners, the Commission said.
It has also invested €73.7 million in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to advance research for health emergencies, including vaccines that could protect against a group of related viruses known as filoviruses, and €7.4 million to support readiness for clinical trials of vaccines and treatments.
“The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda requires a rapid, coordinated and sustained international response,” Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said.
The additional €15 million will form part of a request for extra reinforcement to be submitted to the EU’s budgetary authority later this year.
