Hundreds of millions of dollars meant to help tackle Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo are not reaching the intended recipients, a medical charity has warned.
A report from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said that while the outbreak remained “out of control”, front-line workers were going unpaid, lacked proper training and were struggling with shortages of essential supplies.
It added that in some cases ambulances had run out of fuel.
More than 5,400 people have died and 11,000 infected with Ebola in DR Congo since the outbreak was declared in May.
This makes it the second-most deadly outbreak of the disease ever recorded.
MSF has urged the Congolese government and UN agencies to “strengthen oversight and accountability” to ensure money already disbursed is effectively utilised.
This means “ensuring response personnel are properly trained, paid, equipped, and supported, and directing resources towards areas where needs are greatest”, it said.
The BBC has asked the Congolese government for comment.
MSF’s warning adds to concerns raised by Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) last month, when it said that $700m (£527m) out of $962m disbursed to organisations implementing Ebola response was unaccounted for.
At the time, Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya said it was too early to describe it as embezzlement, characterising the issue as a major transparency and financial reporting failure.
The Congolese health minister echoed these concerns, saying that aid agencies were required to provide details of their work so the ministry could provide oversight but that only 22% had done so.
“Our requirement is clear: transparency must be total. The response relies on a single plan, a single budget, and a single coordination,” Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said on X., external
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
