The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing its third-largest Ebola outbreak on record, with health officials reporting more than 130 deaths and more than 500 suspected and confirmed cases.
But the latest surge in infections is exposing another crisis: the collapse of health systems following sweeping cuts to US foreign aid.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) says confirmed Ebola cases in eastern DRC rose from 246 to nearly 500 in only 96 hours, warning that weakened disease surveillance systems are now struggling to keep pace with transmission.
The outbreak, which has spread across eastern DRC and into parts of Uganda, involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a variant for which there is currently no licensed vaccine or targeted treatment. The new strain is said to be more deadly and has a mortality rate of just over 50 per cent.
Between 2024 and 2025, funding dropped by 70 per cent after Trump announced he was halting USAID funding.
“Heavy funding cuts have left the region dangerously exposed,” said Heather Kerr, IRC regional vice president for East and Central Africa. “The sharp rise in reported cases over the last few days reflects the reality that surveillance systems are now catching up with transmission that has likely been occurring for some time.”
Aid groups and health officials say cuts to US-funded health programmes, particularly through USAID, have reduced access to medical centres, surveillance teams and emergency stockpiles in some of the region’s most remote communities.
The IRC said it has been forced to scale back operations from five programme areas to only two at the centre of the outbreak, after reductions in US funding.
Health experts warn that shortages of frontline staff, testing capacity and treatment facilities may have contributed to the rapid spread of the virus, particularly in rural areas where access to health care was already limited.
After IRC's warning, the US State Department responded, saying it had mobilised an initial $23 million in bilateral foreign assistance by funding up to 50 treatment clinics and associated frontline operations in DRC and Uganda.
