Ebola vaccine reaches epicenter of Congo outbreak as officials race to contain spread

The World Health Organization said limited access and adequate funding are a key challenge in its response to the Ebola outbreak in southern Congo

KINSHASA, Congo -- Limited access and required funding are the key challenges facing health officials trying to respond to the latest Ebola outbreak in southern Congo, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

It is the first Ebola outbreak in 18 years in Kasai province, a remote part of Congo with poor road networks, which is more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.

A United Nations peacekeeping helicopter was used to help deliver 400 vaccine doses to the epicenter, in the locality of Bulape, on Friday, Patrick Otim, WHO's programme area manager, told a briefing in Geneva.

An additional 1,500 doses will be sent from the capital of Kinshasa, he said.

“We have struggled in the last seven days with access but are collaborating with MONUSCO (UN peacekeeping mission in Congo) now,” Otim said.

While the WHO and Congolese authorities have “ramped up efforts to have a full scale response” on ground, “we need to be able to pay for the operations,” he added.

Since the outbreak was confirmed on Sept. 4, the number of suspected cases has increased from 28 to 68, Africa’s top health agency said on Thursday. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC, has so far reported 16 deaths.

Otim said the most recent confirmed case was located 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the current epicenter. “Our worry is if we get cases in the other health zone, we need to expand and it will be resource-intensive,” he said.

WHO’s projected cost for the current outbreak over the next three months is $20 million while Congo’s national response plan is estimated at $78 million, said Otim.

A major concern has been the impact of recent U.S. funding cuts. The U.S. had supported the response to Congo’s past Ebola outbreaks, including in 2021 when the U.S. Agency for International Development provided up to $11.5 million to support efforts across Africa.