Ebola: Switzerland boosts support for fight against epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and wider region
Bern, 23.07.2026 — The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing a new Ebola epidemic that began in May of this year. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) has decided to contribute an additional CHF 1.6 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) to support efforts to combat the spread of the virus in the DRC and the wider region.
The DRC has been facing a new Ebola epidemic since this past May. According to figures from the DRK’s National Institute of Public Health, 2,536 cases had been confirmed, and 1,033 deaths reported. The virus continues to spread in the east of the country, where armed conflicts and displacement are complicating efforts to contain the epidemic. Ituri Province remains its epicentre, followed by North Kivu.
The FDFA's Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been monitoring how the situation is developing and the risk that the virus will spread to neighbouring countries, especially South Sudan, considered particularly vulnerable owing to its fragile healthcare system and the volume of cross-border interaction. In the light of its observations it has decided to contribute an additional CHF 1.6 million to the WHO effort. This funding will help emergency medical teams to coordinate more closely, and will also support the ‘Continental preparedness and response plan’ drafted jointly by Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the WHO. This additional contribution takes Switzerland's total commitment to CHF 4.6 million since the crisis began.
Initiated in May and implemented by the SDC, Switzerland's initial response has already helped to support local healthcare systems, track the progression of the epidemic, and distribute information on health to the population at risk.
Thanks to the support of its partners, the WHO has been able to double its laboratory screening capacity in the affected areas from 200 to 400 tests per day. There is now a network of 10 laboratories across the affected provinces, with the capacity to process more than 2,000 tests daily. Moreover, clinical trials are now in progress as part of an international effort to assess potential treatments for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus. Swiss support forms part of these activities.
In addition, the SDC is planning to offer the WHO the services of an expert from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit to support crisis response efforts for six months.
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SDC’s countries of intervention: Democratic Republic of the Congo