The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 1,500 confirmed cases and killed at least 473 people, with the crisis deepening against a backdrop of drastically reduced international health funding following the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The outbreak, concentrated in the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, has been complicated by the particular strain involved: the Bundibugyo variant spread undetected for weeks because authorities were initially testing for the more common Zaire strain, and unlike its counterpart, it has no approved vaccine or treatment. Clinical trials for a potential first effective therapy began this week, offering a measure of hope in what has become one of the country's gravest health emergencies.

The humanitarian toll extends well beyond the case count. The United Nations warns that more than 1.15 million people in affected areas — particularly in Ituri, where two in three health zones are now affected — face acute food insecurity. The outbreak has disrupted local markets, slowed imports, and driven up prices, hitting the most vulnerable households hardest. Of the 1,511 confirmed cases recorded, only around 900 patients had received direct food assistance at the start of this month, while coverage for the families of the sick stood at just 25 percent and fell to a mere 3 percent for suspected cases and contacts. Humanitarian coordinators are calling for $22 million to meet Ebola-related needs alone, set against a broader DRC humanitarian plan valued at $621 million that has only been 84 percent funded.

At the heart of the international response gap lie the cuts carried out last year through the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which gutted USAID programmes — including, by Elon Musk's own later admission, Ebola detection and response operations in the DRC. Global health experts say the consequences were predictable.