Today marks the end of the ninth outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The World Health Organization (WHO) congratulates the country and all those involved in ending the outbreak, while urging them to extend this success to combatting other diseases in DRC.

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, joined Minister of Health Dr Oly Ilunga for the announcement in Kinshasa.

“The outbreak was contained due to the tireless efforts of local teams, the support of partners, the generosity of donors, and the effective leadership of the Ministry of Health. That kind of leadership, allied with strong collaboration between partners, saves lives,” said Dr Tedros.

Unlike previous Ebola outbreaks in the country, this one involved four separate locations, including an urban centre with river connections to the capital and to neighbouring countries, as well as remote rainforest villages. There were initial concerns that the disease could spread to other parts of DRC, and to neighbouring countries.

Within hours of the outbreak being declared on 8 May, WHO released US$2 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies, deployed a team to augment capacity in the field, and activated an emergency incident management system.

“WHO moved quickly and efficiently,” said Dr Moeti, “We also demonstrated the tremendous capacity of the African region. More than three-quarters of the 360 people deployed to respond came from within the region. Dozens of experts from Guinea spent weeks leading Ebola vaccination efforts here, transferring expertise which will enable the DRC to mount an effective response both within its borders and beyond.”

Dr Tedros urged the DRC Government and the international community to build on the positive momentum generated by the quick containment of the Ebola outbreak.

“This effective response to Ebola should make the Government and partners confident that other major outbreaks affecting the country such as cholera and polio can also be tackled,” said Dr Tedros. “We must continue to work together, investing in strengthened preparedness and access to healthcare for the most vulnerable.”

Note to editors

Funding

WHO’s rapid response and scale up of operations in the DRC was funded by a total of US$4 million disbursement from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE).

WHO and partners appealed for US$57 million to stop the spread of Ebola. The total funds received by all partners, as tracked by OCHA, amount to US$63 million.

Funding towards WHO’s contribution to the Ebola response was provided from: Italy (€ 300 000), UN CERF (US$ 800 000), Gavi (US$ 1 million), USAID (US$ 5.3 million), Wellcome Trust and UK-DFID (US$ 4.1 million), UK-DFID (£5 million), Germany (€5 million), Norway (NOK 8 million), Canada (CAD$1 million), World Bank PEF (US$ 6.8 million), Japan (US$1.3 million), EU ECHO (€ 1.5 million) and from the Ebola MPTF (US$ 428,000) bringing the total to approximately US$ 36 million.

Germany’s contribution is in recognition of the critical role the WHO CFE has played in responding to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and will go to replenish the CFE, which provided initial funds for the response efforts.

In-kind contributions for medical evacuation were received from Norway. EU ECHO support was provided for flights between Kinshasa and Mbandaka. Technical expertise was provided by Guinea, the UK, USA and Germany through the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). Merck provided the vaccines that were used to protect over 3300 people.

WHO partners in the DRC Ebola response included the following:

The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the Red Cross of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo Red Cross), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF), the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa-CDC), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC), ECHO, the Department for International Development (DFID), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, UNCERF, UNOCHA, MONUSCO, UNFPA, International Organization for Migration (IOM), the FAO Emergency Management Centre – Animal Health (EMC-AH), the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), the UK Public Health Rapid Support team, the EPIET Alumni Network (EAN), the International Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Emerging Diseases Clinical Assessment and Response Network (EDCARN), the World Bank and PATH. The Government of Guinea deployed more than 30 Ministry of Health staff to assist with the ring vaccination campaign, and Merck provided the Ebola vaccine. Additional coordination and technical support through the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), Association pour le développement de l’épidémiologie de terrain (EPITER), European Mobile Laboratory (EMLab), Infection Control Africa Network (ICAN), Institut Pasteur (IP), National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), South Africa, Robert Koch Institut (RKI), and Emergency Medical Teams (EMT).