---
title: "UK commits $26.87 million to contain Ebola outbreak in DRC"
description: "May 21 (Reuters) - Britain has allocated up to 20 million pounds ($26.87 million) in new aid funding to help contain an Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UK's Foreign Office said on Thursday."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "World"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-21-uk-commits-2687-million-to-contain-ebola-outbreak-in-drc/"
published: "2026-05-21T04:52:14"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 129
---

# UK commits $26.87 million to contain Ebola outbreak in DRC

> May 21 (Reuters) - Britain has allocated up to 20 million pounds ($26.87 million) in new aid funding to help contain an Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UK's Foreign Office said on Thursday.

By Reuters · Published 21 May 2026, 06:52 SAST

## Content

As of Wednesday, there were 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths in Congo. Fifty-one cases have been [confirmed](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL6N41X0P1&linkedFromStory=true) by laboratory testing in Congo, and two cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda. The outbreak is expected to continue to grow, the World Health Organization has said.

- The funding will help the WHO, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations step up surveillance, protect [frontline](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL6N41W0ZY&linkedFromStory=true) health workers and improve infection prevention and control, the UK Foreign Office said.
- The UK Health Security Agency is assessing routes by which travellers enter the UK from affected countries and it has activated a program to protect and monitor the health of individuals travelling from the UK to affected areas for work.

(Reporting by Carlos Méndez in Mexico City; Editing by Chris Reese)