Japan Gives $5Mln In Emergency Aid To DR Congo To Fight Ebola Outbreak - Foreign Ministry

Tokyo granted on Thursday emergency assistance in the amount of $5 million to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in response to the Ebola virus outbreak in its east, Japan's Foreign Ministry said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2019) Tokyo granted on Thursday emergency assistance in the amount of $5 million to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in response to the Ebola virus outbreak in its east, Japan's Foreign Ministry said.

The current Ebola outbreak in the DRC began in late July 2018. According to the latest numbers by the World Health Organization (WHO), as of August 13, a total of 2,842 Ebola cases were reported in the country, including 1,905 deaths.

"On August 22, the Government of Japan decided to extend an Emergency Grant Aid of 550 million Japanese Yen (5 million USD) to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the eastern part of the country," the ministry said in a statement.

The aid is meant to help the DRC in its efforts to fight the Ebola virus outbreak through treatment, diagnosis, surveillance and tracking.

In early August, the UN emergency fund allocated an additional $10 million to the DRC for its efforts to contain and prevent new cases of the disease, having previously given the African nation $4.8 million in 2018 for this purpose.

In mid-July, WHO declared the Ebola epidemic in the DRC as a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern," as a new case of the virus was reported from the city of Goma, a city with about 2 million residents, which borders with Rwanda. Previously, Ebola cases had only been registered throughout rural areas, whereas the new case caused concern of the virus spreading into neighboring territories.