The World Bank has announced a disbursement of US $ 50 million for the DR Congo. These funds will be donated to the World Health Organization (WHO) to fund its life-saving operational activities in the context of front-line interventions against the Ebola outbreak.

Indeed, this $ 50 million envelope will be used to fill the financing gap for WHO’s emergency health intervention in the DRC until the end of September 2019.

« WHO is very grateful to the World Bank for the support it provides […] We look forward to additional funding from other partners to continue the intervention until the end of the year » said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO.

The funding consists of $ 30 million from the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) and $ 20 million from the World Bank.

This financial support in the form of grants is part of the financial package of about $ 300 million that the World Bank announced last month to support the Fourth Strategic Plan for the Ebola Epidemic.

« The partnership between our organizations and the government is critical to addressing the emergency, rebuilding basic service delivery systems, and rebuilding the trust of local people, » said Annette Dixon, Vice President of Public Safety. Human Development at the World Bank.

The DRC government, in collaboration with the World Bank, WHO and other major partners, has finalized the Fourth Strategic Response Plan (SRP4) which assesses the total amount of resources needed to fund the response to the crisis Ebola in the DRC from July to December 2019.

Voici le professeur et médecin congolais qui vient de stopper médicalement Ebola. Le Dr Muyembe Tamfum vient de co-inventer une molécule qui fait ses preuves en arrêtant la transmission de la maladie. La plus grande richesse de la RDC c'est pas sous terre, mais dans la tête. pic.twitter.com/QgQ8yIdEYu

— Freddy~Ephraiim (@freddy_ephraim) August 14, 2019

As a reminder, the Congolese National Executive had submitted a request for US $ 30 million to be paid directly to WHO by the EPF cash window. The PEF Steering Committee approved it, bringing the total contribution of the Emergency Financing Facility to the fight against Ebola in the DRC to $ 61.4 million.

The PEF is a financing mechanism hosted by the World Bank. Its steering committee, co-chaired by the Bank and WHO, includes representatives from donor member countries such as Japan, Germany and Australia.

The funding it provides quickly and flexibly saves lives by allowing governments and international actors to focus on the fight against Ebola rather than fundraising.

Agnes KAYEMBE