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Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region
08 September 2026
Lead MP
Kirsty McNeill
Debate Type
General Debate
Tags
Science & Technology
Other Contributors: 1
At a Glance
Kirsty McNeill raised concerns about ebola outbreak in the democratic republic of the congo and the region in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Opened the debate
The UK provided an additional £51.8 million in funding towards the BVD Ebola response, bringing the total to £78.7 million. The outbreak has grown significantly since May, with 6,250 confirmed cases and 2,744 confirmed deaths as of 1 September. The UK's objectives are to support containment at source, back the African-led response, reduce humanitarian impacts, strengthen regional preparedness, and protect the UK public. Funding will help affected countries and partners strengthen surveillance and contact tracing, expand treatment and case-management capacity, improve infection prevention and control, support frontline health workers, and engage communities to stop transmission.
The UK is working to accelerate the response now to contain transmission and reduce the risk of wider regional spread. The UK is supporting regional preparedness and coordination, including providing UK technical expertise and £1 million to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to help coordinate essential equipment and medical supplies across the response. The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team has deployed ten experts to support preparedness, readiness and response across the region.
Government Response
The UK has provided an additional £51.8 million in funding towards the response, bringing the total to £78.7 million. This builds on the £26.9 million in UK bilateral support already announced. The UK is also supporting urgent research and development through UK support to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
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Assessment & feedback
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