The United States government has approved an additional Sh10.3 billion ($80 million) in bilateral assistance to support efforts aimed at containing the Ebola outbreak and preventing further international spread.
According to a statement by the US government, the funding will support local governments, non-governmental organisations and international partners involved in the response. The US Department of State finalised plans for the allocation on May 27.
The new resources will be used to expand critical response activities, including procurement and delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE), border screening and surveillance, contact tracing, and diagnostic supplies.
"On May 27, the Department finalised plans to allocate an additional $80 million in bilateral assistance to key partners on the ground to expand their ongoing response to the Ebola outbreak," the statement reads.
"These new resources will enable implementing partners to scale up the following critical response activities: PPE procurement and delivery, border screening and surveillance, contact tracing, and diagnostics supplies."
UNICEF and the World Food Program will lead the procurement and distribution of PPE and other commodities to protect healthcare workers in affected and high-risk areas.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) will enhance health screening at airports and major land and water entry points, improve surveillance systems and increase public awareness campaigns on Ebola prevention.
Interchurch Medical Assistance (IMA) World Health, World Vision and UNICEF will expand contact tracing and community-based surveillance to identify people potentially exposed to the virus.
FHI 360 will support the procurement and distribution of test kits and facilitate the safe transportation of samples to improve detection and reporting of Ebola cases.
With the additional funding commitment, the US government said it has mobilised more than $112 million in bilateral foreign assistance for the Ebola response in less than two weeks.
The State Department has also committed $50 million to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to support up to 50 Ebola response clinics in affected areas.
Responders have been deployed to health facilities in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to strengthen Ebola treatment centres and transit units.
The Department is also providing $300 million through OCHA pooled funds to the DRC and Uganda for broader humanitarian efforts in the affected region.
