Britain has pledged up to £20 million ($26.87 million) in new aid to help contain the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Foreign Office said Thursday.
As of Wednesday, health authorities reported 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths in Congo.
Laboratory testing has confirmed 51 cases in the country, while two cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda.
The World Health Organisation has warned that the outbreak is expected to continue growing.
The UK’s funding will bolster the work of the WHO, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations by strengthening surveillance, protecting frontline health workers, and improving infection prevention and control measures.
The UK Health Security Agency is also assessing travel routes from affected countries and has activated a program to monitor and protect the health of individuals travelling from the UK to outbreak zones for work.
