On 8 June 2026, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib, speaking in Addis Ababa alongside Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya, announced €13.5 million in new EU funding to fight the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries. The outbreak has already claimed hundreds of lives and continues to spread, particularly affecting healthcare workers. Lahbib stressed that speed is the most powerful weapon, as no approved vaccine or treatment exists for this strain.
The new package includes €6.5 million for the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative to equip frontline teams and strengthen surveillance, €5 million worth of rapid diagnostic devices and PCR kits, and €2 million for wastewater monitoring. On the research front, the EU is supporting WHO clinical trial protocols, investing in new antivirals and monoclonal antibodies, and has signed a €73 million partnership with CEPI to develop next-generation filovirus vaccines. These announcements build on €15 million in emergency assistance already allocated for DRC and neighbouring countries, and on two-week-old EU humanitarian flights that delivered 100 tonnes of supplies to eastern DRC, with five more flights planned to Bunia.
Lahbib noted that the EU's partnership with Africa CDC was formalised two years ago through an Administrative Arrangement, and that the bloc stood with Africa during the mpox outbreak, delivering over 600,000 vaccine doses as Team Europe. She also recalled her visit to the Great Lakes region in February, where she pressed for humanitarian access, and stressed that a ceasefire is a medical necessity to protect health workers and enable surveillance in hard-to-reach areas like Ituri. The Commissioner framed the response as a test of global cooperation, stating that health security is a shared responsibility and that the EU will continue to stand with Africa CDC, WHO, and frontline communities.
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