DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO — African health officials announced on June 26, 2026, that the funding required to combat the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has increased from an earlier estimate of $518 million to approximately $1.4 billion. The White House submitted a supplemental funding request to Congress on June 24, 2026, which included a $1.4 billion allocation to address the outbreak in Central Africa.

Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, addressed the financial needs on June 24, 2026. "If we don't have this $1.4 billion, and if we don't resolve the humanitarian issue, we will not stop this outbreak," Kaseya said. He had previously stated on June 16, 2026, that unless the outbreak is contained soon, "it will be worse" than any previous Ebola outbreak, including those in Congo, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Marie-Roseline Belizaire, WHO Incident Manager, reported that cases are being missed as Ebola spreads undetected among the population of Congo. As of June 4, 2026, the World Health Organization confirmed 452 cases and 82 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Earlier in the month, on June 2, 2026, the World Health Organization reported 321 confirmed cases and 116 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At that time, at least 48 people had died, and six people had recovered from the disease. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention stated on May 31, 2026, that suspected Ebola cases had risen to more than 1,100 in Congo and Uganda, with the suspected death toll reaching nearly 250.

The number of suspected Ebola cases had risen to 1,084 as of May 28, 2026, and more than 250 deaths had occurred by that date. Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, stated on June 5, 2026, that the initial $518 million plan drew on lessons from previous outbreaks and "provides a pathway to broadly strengthen Africa's capacity to prevent, detect and respond to future health threats."