Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Unlike previous Ebola epidemics caused by the Zaire strain, the current Bundibugyo outbreak has no licensed vaccine or approved treatment, making research an urgent public health priority.

The announcement follows growing calls from public health advocates and humanitarian organizations urging the US government to share available supplies of MBP134 to support outbreak control efforts in Central Africa.

Japan will channel the support through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

This new allocation builds on earlier support, which includes US$350 million in Ebola response and broader humanitarian assistance across the DRC, South Sudan, and Uganda.

The latest recommendations come as health authorities continue to battle a widening outbreak in eastern DRC, with additional confirmed cases reported in Uganda.

The leaders also pledged to protect essential services such as education, routine healthcare, cholera control and measles response efforts as countries confront the growing public health threat.

Authorities also dispatched a team of 35 experts from Kinshasa to reinforce surveillance, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, and community engagement efforts in the affected areas.

Health authorities in DRC and Uganda have already activated emergency response mechanisms, including contact tracing, case isolation, infection prevention measures, and enhanced treatment services.

Four deaths have already been confirmed through laboratory testing, while additional suspected cases remain under investigation in Bunia, a densely populated urban centre in Ituri province.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 96% of reported cases and 97% of deaths.