Friday briefing: ​What do the cuts in aid mean for the fight against Ebola in the DRC?

Ebola is spreading rapidly in parts of east Africa. The deadly disease, which kills around half of those it infects, is suspected to have claimed the lives of at least 240 people since the outbreak began in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this month. Public health officials are scrambling to contain the virus in one of the toughest environments: Ituri province, the centre of the crisis , is a mining hub where thousands of people work in close proximity every day, and a conflict zone, with ongoing fighting between rebel groups. Medical facilities are modest, while waves of displaced people are being forced into overcrowded camps to escape fighting , making it even harder to control transmission. The virus has already spread to other regions in eastern DRC and the Ugandan capital Kampala. It is also the first major Ebola outbreak since the US, UK and other western countries made brutal cuts to humanitarian aid, which began with Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s gutting of USAID. The rapid response infrastructure from previous Ebola outbreaks has been stripped back so much of it is barely fit for purpose, hampering efforts to save lives, warn experts. For today on First Edition, I spoke with Dr Papys Lame , the Ebola outbreak response coordinator in Ituri for the NGO Alima, and Selena Victor , senior director of policy and advocacy for Mercy Corps about efforts to contain the outbreak. But first, the headlines. …