Africa CDC Says $700 Million in Ebola Aid Unaccounted for as Outbreak Spreads in Congo
Source: AP
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and Congolese officials have raised concerns over $700 million in Ebola aid that is unaccounted for and called on aid groups to provide more information about their finances.
This comes as the world’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record continues to outpace efforts, and the virus has spread into eight provinces in Congo and into neighbouring countries, Kenya and Uganda.
The revelations renew long-standing questions about transparency and accountability in Congo, a country battered by decades of major epidemics, including repeated Ebola outbreaks. In recent months, The Associated Press reported extensively on strikes of front-line healthcare and support workers over unpaid salaries, bonuses and dangerous conditions in eastern Congo.
Previous Ebola outbreaks were marked by allegations of corruption and mismanagement of funds, which experts said have contributed to the mistrust of local communities, complicating the efforts to halt the spread.
“Many of those involved in the response, who sometimes risk their own lives to save others, say that they have not been paid,” Prince Bahati, a nurse from Bunia, a town in eastern Congo which is at the centre of the outbreak, told the AP.
“Such a situation is unacceptable and demands clarification, as well as rigorous oversight of how the mobilised resources are managed.”
Anicet Kakule, a Bunia resident, said his friend died in an Ebola treatment centre because of a lack of adequate care.
“When you hear about sums like these, frankly, I can understand why some people believe that Ebola has become a business for many NGOs,” he said.
“I would like to see the management of funds allocated to the response handled jointly by our country’s government and humanitarian partners, the WHO, for instance — to ensure greater transparency and accountability,” he said.
Here’s what we know about the Ebola funding.
Not all funds are accounted for
Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the continent’s top public health agency, told reporters last week that since the beginning of the epidemic, $962 million from international donors has been disbursed to organisations working on Ebola response in eastern Congo.
But only $200 million has been accounted for by organisations working on the ground, which include U.N. agencies such as the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and international charities like Save The Children and Médecins du Monde, as well as local aid groups.
Only one-third of the organisations attended a recent meeting organised by Congo’s health ministry and provided their financial records, Kaseya said. Those attending organisations said they received $228 million, of which $127 million had been spent and around $100 million remained available.