Africa CDC head reports $700 million in untracked funds in DR Congo — The Rio Times
Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said in Kinshasa that approximately $700 million in donor funds allocated to combat the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could not be tracked. He made the statement on October 14, The Rio Times reports.
According to Kaseya, donors reported paying more than $900 million to organizations implementing response measures. At the same time, approximately $200 million could be tracked, of which about $100 million remained unused. Kaseya promised to demand accountability from every partner that received funding.
Data provided by fewer than a third of partners
At a meeting convened by the DR Congo National Institute of Public Health, fewer than 30% of partners took part in reconciling the data. According to information announced on October 2 by the institute's director general, Dieudonné Mwamba, only 25 of approximately 94 accredited partners provided funding information. They declared receiving $226.3 million and spending $127.4 million.
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Health Minister Roger Samuel Kamba described the management of the funds as non-transparent. He said that organizations unable to explain their use of the funding could lose their accreditation. Measures by the DGM migration service are also possible against them.
Funding for the Ebola outbreak response
The funds are intended to respond to the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has continued in the country since May. On May 17, the World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency of international concern.
According to Journal de Kinshasa as of October 15, the country recorded 9,144 cases and 4,410 deaths. The eastern province of Ituri was the hardest hit. The publication emphasized that officials' statements point to a problem with tracking funding, rather than an established fact of misappropriation of funds.
