ITURI PROVINCE — Cuts to U.S. Agency for International Development programs under the Trump administration have slowed the response to an Ebola outbreak identified last week in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to aid workers and former officials. As of Wednesday, suspected deaths stood at 139 and suspected cases at 600, according to the World Health Organization.

Last year, the Trump administration canceled the majority of USAID programs and fired most of its staff. Roughly 1,000 USAID programs were salvaged and absorbed into the State Department. USAID had been part of the system for dealing with Ebola until last year.

"What we've lost is speed, which is the most important thing in an outbreak like this," said Nicholas Enrich, former acting assistant administrator for global health at USAID. Enrich said USAID programs could have helped laboratories in Congo detect the virus earlier, sped up the distribution of personal protective equipment to hospitals and deployed local community health workers to screen people for symptoms and track down those who may have been exposed. He said he watched the agency's outbreak response systems end in early 2025 when the administration scaled back foreign assistance.

Community health workers with expertise from past Ebola outbreaks have since had to find other jobs, said Dr. Daniel Bausch, visiting faculty at the Geneva Graduate Institute and a former CDC medical officer. "Now they're driving a taxi in Kinshasa or selling fruit somewhere. So this cadre of reasonably trained people that you can employ just isn't around," he said.

The International Rescue Committee said U.S. funding cuts last year forced it to downsize its presence in Ituri Province, including scaling back surveillance efforts and sanitation measures such as handwashing stations, showers and latrines. The group said the lack of donor funding has reduced its ability to distribute personal protective equipment kits, and that many facilities in affected areas are operating without basic protective supplies.

"It is false to claim that the USAID reform has negatively impacted our ability to respond to Ebola," said Tommy Pigott, a spokesman for the State Department. The department said in a news release that it had mobilized $23 million in foreign assistance, stating, "This funding bolsters each country's own response, supporting surveillance, laboratory capacity, risk communication, safe burials, entry and exit screening, and clinical case management." On Tuesday, the department announced a plan to fund up to 50 clinics to provide emergency screening, triage and isolation capacity.

With USAID gone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has taken on a greater role in the Ebola outbreak response. The agency said its offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are helping with surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, contact tracing and distributing personal protective equipment.

The U.S. withdrew from the World Health Organization last year, with President Trump accusing the body of mishandling the Covid pandemic when announcing the withdrawal. In an outbreak, the WHO helps with international coordination, technical expertise and delivering medical supplies and equipment where they are needed.