WHO, Africa CDC unveil $518m Ebola plan as Uganda death toll rises

Uganda reported three more cases and one more death from the outbreak, which has spread from neighbouring DRC.The World Health Organization (WHO) and the African Union’s health agency have announced a $518m plan to combat the deadly Ebola outbreak in conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighbouring Uganda.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that the plan, in collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), will run from June to November. It will cover emergency coordination, surveillance, testing, infection prevention, clinical care and community engagement.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3DRC suggests behind-closed-doors World Cup warm-up to offset Ebola threatlist 2 of 3The Ebola outbreak the world isn’t paying attention tolist 3 of 3Protesters use ‘Ebola coffin’ to rally against US quarantine centreend of listThe initiative comes as authorities race to contain the deadly virus, first declared in the DRC on May 15. It has since infected at least 381 people there, causing 64 deaths.The outbreak has also spread to Uganda, where authorities announced three more cases on Friday, increasing the total to 19, with two deaths.The latest outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which is believed to have been spreading under the radar for some time.‘Stop the outbreak where it is’Speaking at a media conference, Tedros expressed optimism that the WHO-Africa CDC health plan would bring the outbreak “under control”.“The objective is straightforward: we need to stop the outbreak where it is, support countries that are responding today, and ensure that neighbouring countries are ready to detect and act quickly if cases appear,” said Tedros.“This is a practical plan,” he continued. “It sets out what we need to do now, together, to contain the current outbreak and reduce the risk of further spread.”