The United States is providing up to $8 million to help stop the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a top U.S. health official said in Geneva.
Health authorities in the Central African country have reported around 50 suspected cases and 27 deaths from the disease. The outbreak was first reported in rural areas, but several cases have occurred in Mbandaka, a provincial capital with more than 1 million people.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced the latest tranche of American assistance in a May 22 address to the World Health Assembly. He commended the Democratic Republic of the Congo “for responding to this outbreak with such vigor” and urged all World Health Organization members to help “ensure we defeat this outbreak.”
Most of the funds will come through the U.S. Agency for International Development. The United States also is sending a team of specialists to help out.
“O governo dos EUA está comprometido com a segurança da saúde global.”
~ Porta-voz do Departamento de Estado, Heather Nauert
Equipes médicas congolesas começaram a vacinar profissionais de saúde e contatos de vítimas do ebola com uma vacina experimental fornecida pela empresa farmacêutica americana Merck.
Os Estados Unidos investiram US$ 1 bilhão desde 2014 para ajudar os países em desenvolvimento a se capacitar a fim de prevenir, detectar e responder a epidemias. O compromisso de acabar com as epidemias precocemente faz parte da Estratégia de Segurança Nacional da Casa Branca.
O surto de ebola de 2014 a 2016 em três países da África Ocidental – Guiné, Libéria e Serra Leoa – causou 11.310 mortes antes de ser controlado, conforme relatado pela OMS.
