Gates Foundation Ebola Response Funding Announcement

We are deeply concerned by the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak affecting communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones, the communities facing uncertainty, and the frontline health workers, laboratory teams, responders, and community volunteers working under extremely difficult conditions to protect lives.

No single country or institution can contain an outbreak alone, especially when there are risks of cross-border spread. The governments of DRC and Uganda, together with Africa CDC, WHO, and regional partners, are leading critical efforts to contain the outbreak and strengthen regional preparedness and cross-border coordination. We strongly support the “one plan, one budget, one team” African-led response partners have endorsed, focused on rapid containment and operational coordination.

The Gates Foundation is committing an initial $15 million in emergency funding to support this response through trusted institutions already working on the ground. The funding is designed to place the majority of resources as close to affected countries and communities as possible: 

• $5 million to Africa CDC for regional coordination, rapid deployment, and cross-border surveillance;
• $5 million to WHO AFRO for frontline operational support to countries; and 
• $5 million to WHO Headquarters to support rapid procurement, diagnostics, and surge logistics for critical response commodities.

The foundation also supports collaboration between Africa CDC and WHO AFRO through the Joint Emergency Action Plan (JEAP), a framework designed to strengthen coordination and provide governments with more unified emergency support during health crises. This outbreak underscores the importance of leveraging that partnership so countries receive coordinated and timely support rather than fragmented parallel responses.

The foundation continues to support the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, including through our funding to CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. However, because there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for Bundibugyo Ebola, the immediate priority is rapid detection, strong public health measures, protection of frontline workers, and coordinated action to stop transmission as quickly as possible.

In an outbreak, every day matters. Early coordination and rapid action are the difference between containment and wider regional spread. We will continue working closely with governments, Africa CDC, WHO, and other partners to monitor the evolving situation and assess where additional support may be needed in the coming weeks.