Millions of Ebola dollars missing with staff unpaid while virus spreads, charity says

Hundreds of millions of dollars intended for the DRC Ebola response are not reaching beneficiaries, warns a medical charity.

A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) report indicates that while the outbreak remains “out of control,” frontline workers are going unpaid, lack appropriate training, and face shortages of essential supplies.

In some cases, ambulances have run out of fuel.

More than 5,400 individuals have died and 11,000 have been infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the outbreak was declared in May.

This makes it the second-most lethal Ebola outbreak ever recorded.

MSF has called on the Congolese government and UN agencies to “strengthen oversight and accountability” to ensure previously disbursed funds are used effectively.

This entails “ensuring response personnel are properly trained, paid, equipped, and supported, while directing resources to the areas with the greatest needs,” the charity stated.

The BBC has asked the Congolese government for comment.

MSF’s warning compounds concerns expressed by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) last month, which reported that $700m (£527m) of $962m disbursed to organizations implementing the Ebola response remained unaccounted for.

At the time, Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya indicated it was premature to label the issue as embezzlement, characterizing it instead as a major failure in transparency and financial reporting.

The Congolese health minister echoed these concerns, stating that aid agencies must provide details of their operations so the ministry can offer oversight, but only 22% had done so.

Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba stated on X: “Our requirement is clear: transparency must be total. The response relies on a single plan, a single budget, and a single coordination,”, external

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