As US withdraws, India & non-profits pitch in to help DRC tackle ebola outbreak

As the United States has withdrawn from global healthcare cooperation, India, China, and non-profits have stepped up efforts to help local authorities tackle the Ebola virus outbreak in Africa, which is centred in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday announced that India has dispatched a second tranche of medical assistance to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), comprising 43 tonnes of protective gear, diagnostic and monitoring equipment, medicines, and supplements.

India had sent the first tranche of medical supplies and protective kits on May 24.

Africa CDC is currently assisting local authorities in the DRC along with the World Health Organization (WHO) in tackling the Ebola outbreak, which has so far infected at least 1,188 people (906 suspected cases and 264 confirmed cases) and killed at least 223 people.

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As Firstpost’s Madhur Sharma has previously reported, efforts to contain the DRC’s outbreak have been hampered this year by the American withdrawal from global healthcare cooperation, the shutdown of US Aid, and continuing armed conflicts in the region.

In the wake of the American withdrawal, others are trying to assist local authorities: China has dispatched a team of medical experts to the DRC and global health organisation Cepi has announced a $60 million grant to accelerate the development of a vaccine against Bundibugyo, the species of Ebola driving the outbreak.

In the DRC, the delayed detection that allowed the virus to spread unchecked has been attributed to two main reasons. First, local authorities did not test for strains other than the dominant Zaire strain. As a result, it was not until mid-May that the DRC and neighbouring Uganda declared an outbreak. Second, the delay was also partly due to samples being transported to the national laboratory in the capital, Kinshasa, at incorrect temperatures, according to The New York Times.

Previously, the task would have been handled by US Aid but the shutdown meant the handling was botched as apparently untrained filled the vacuum.

Cepi steps up as US retreats

Cepi will grant up to $50 million to Moderna to support preclinical and early clinical development of a vaccine for Ebola’s Bundibugyo species, up to $8.6 million to the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, and an initial $3.2 million to the International Aids Vaccine Initiative, according to Reuters.

Currently, there is no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo ebola virus.

Cepi chief Richard Hatchett said it was possible to get the vaccine ready for trials within two months but warned that trials could be complicated by the armed conflict plaguing the region.

Separately, Moderna said that Cepi’s funding would also support later-stage trials and eventual manufacturing if early data proves promising.