DRC and Partners Launch Revised 180-Day, $1.3 Billion Ebola Response Plan in Kinshasa

The Democratic Republic of Congo and its response partners launched a revised multisectoral 180-day plan in Kinshasa on Friday, 4 September 2026, to intensify the fight against the 17th Ebola epidemic, caused by Bundibugyo virus, with full implementation estimated to require $1.3 billion. Health Minister Dr. Samuel Roger Kamba said 'the government is fully mobilized to protect all persons in the DRC,' while WHO Interim Representative Dr. Anne Ancia warned 'time is our most precious resource — every case detected too late, every contact missed and every delay in mobilizing resources translates into lives lost.' UN Resident Coordinator Damien Mama said a sustainable response 'requires integration with broader humanitarian action,' and Africa CDC Country Director Dr. Hyppolite Kalambay Ntembwa called the plan 'coordinated, multisectoral... making communities key actors.' Dr. Dieudonné Mwamba, director of DRC's National Public Health Institute (INSP), and Secretary General for Social Affairs Dr. Sylvain Yuma Ramazani also participated in the launch. The plan comes as the outbreak, per ECDC data through 2 September, stood at 6,342 confirmed cases and 3,072 deaths across 60 health zones in six provinces.