STORY
The UK has announced up to £20 million in new funding to help contain an Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the funding would support the World Health Organisation, UN agencies, international partners and NGOs responding to the outbreak.
The funding is intended to strengthen disease surveillance, support frontline health workers, improve infection prevention and control and help affected communities access care. The Government said most confirmed cases are in the Ituri region, an area already facing serious humanitarian and security challenges.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and the Health Secretary chaired a cross-government meeting to coordinate the UK response, including work to protect British nationals overseas. Ministers said the UK was also working with authorities in DRC and Uganda, the WHO and international partners on vaccines, treatments and diagnostics.