NAIROBI, Kenya- More than $700 million in donor funds for the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could not be traced through financial information provided by organisations involved in the work, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says.
Africa CDC Director General Dr Jean Kaseya said donors reported disbursing about $962 million to organisations implementing Ebola response activities in Congo.
But only about a third of those organisations attended a verification meeting and shared financial information, leaving authorities without a clear account of most of the money.
The participating organisations reported receiving $228 million, of which $127 million had been spent and about $100 million remained available, Kaseya told Reuters.
He said it was too early to describe the gap as embezzlement, calling it a major transparency and financial reporting problem.
Congo’s Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said aid organisations must provide his ministry with details on their funding, objectives and level of implementation.
Kaseya warned that organisations that fail to comply could be barred from working in Congo and blacklisted across Africa.
The funding concerns emerge as the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak continues to affect the region.
Congo had recorded more than 9,000 confirmed cases and over 4,000 deaths by mid-October, according to reports cited by Reuters.
The outbreak has also led to confirmed infections in Kenya.
Kenya reported its third confirmed Ebola case on Friday, October 16.
The patient, a 65-year-old woman, was a close relative of the first two patients and had been in quarantine since October 6.
She developed a fever, sore throat and malaise, was isolated and tested, and is receiving supportive care, according to the Ministry of Health.
The first case was a Kenyan man who had travelled from Congo through Uganda and arrived in Nairobi on October 3.
He died on October 5.
Two relatives later tested positive while in quarantine.
The World Health Organization said Kenya had recorded three cases, including one death, by October 16.
It said all three were linked to the imported case and there was no evidence of community transmission.
Health authorities had identified 130 people who came into contact with the first patient.
By October 16, 127 were in quarantine and undergoing daily monitoring, while efforts to trace the remaining contacts continued.
WHO said further cases among quarantined contacts remained possible.
The untraced funds relate to the response in Congo.
The reported funding gap does not establish that money intended for Kenya’s Ebola response is missing.
WHO says it is supporting Kenya’s surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing and patient care.
