The second-largest Ebola outbreak in history is occurring right now in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The outbreak is in an active conflict area, and medical personnel and treatment centers have been attacked. The security situation is complex, and there is great risk that the outbreak will spread over international borders. On July 17, 2019, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC to be a public health emergency of international concern. As of January 21, 2020, there have been 3,416 cases, including 2,238 deaths.
Despite the urgency and need for additional funding, philanthropic donors have not stepped up as they did in response to the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014. Flexible and fast philanthropic funding is critical to support the emergency response to contain the virus.
Panorama created The Ebola Fund to enable philanthropists and individual donors to support response to, and preparation for, Ebola outbreaks. The Fund provides a mechanism to direct resources toward the greatest need as determined by experts on the ground.
The purpose of the Ebola Fund is to rapidly deploy resources to the organizations that are working at the core of the emergency response, as outlined in the formal Strategic Response Plan. This plan was developed in partnership between the DRC Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, and is a comprehensive overview of the needs for the response and the partners who are implementing it.
The Ebola Fund is aligned with advocacy efforts to encourage donor countries to do more to support the Ebola response.
“The Ebola Fund will concentrate funding toward the biggest needs on the ground. By mobilizing resources, The Ebola Fund will help close the financial gap for the outbreak response in the short term, and find solutions that bring us one step closer to eliminating Ebola as a global threat in the long term.” – Dr. David Nabarro, former UN Special Envoy for Ebola.”
The Ebola Fund was launched in 2019. Through the contributions of individual donors, The Ebola Fund is pleased to have been able to provide funding to the International Medical Corps (IMC) to support their work on the ground in the DRC. IMC’s Emergency Response Team works with the DRC Ministry of Health to support treatment, vaccination, infection prevention, screening, and training. IMC has opened and operated two Ebola Treatment Centers and constructed over 50 screening-and-referral units throughout the North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
AT A GLANCE
Opportunity Youth who work as teens or young adults are
45%
more likely to be homeowners
42%
more likely to be employed
52%
more likely to report excellent or good health than those who are disconnected as young people.
