The International Organization for Migration (IOM) today launched a six-month Regional Ebola Preparedness and Response Plan seeking USD 55.8 million to strengthen coordinated action across 11 countries following the latest Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
So far, USD 20 million has been secured, leaving a funding gap of around USD 35 million. The appeal will support preparedness and response measures aimed at stopping further spread of the virus, with particular focus on communities affected by displacement and high levels of cross-border movement.
"The outbreak is centred on areas where people cross borders every day for trade, work, family visits and access to services," said Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director General for Operations. "Responding effectively requires reaching communities affected by conflict, displacement, and insecurity. It requires maintaining surveillance where formal and informal cross-border movements continue. It requires building trust where fear and misinformation have led some communities to question public health interventions."
IOM has conducted more than one million health screenings at borders and along key cross-border routes and travel corridors across Ebola-affected and at-risk countries, as it scales up its efforts to support the control of an outbreak that has spread across eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
The outbreak is unfolding in eastern DRC in areas already affected by conflict, displacement and insecurity. As a result, families are facing growing disruption to daily life, including reduced access to markets, workplaces and essential services, while health systems remain under significant strain and struggle to deliver timely response measures.
Effective response therefore requires reaching communities affected by insecurity and displacement, maintaining surveillance at both formal and informal border points, and ensuring access to clear, timely and trusted health information. In some locations, insecurity and attacks on health workers have further disrupted response operations, including case detection and contact tracing.
"One missed case can change everything," said Blate David, a National Medical Officer with IOM at Nimule Point of Entry in South Sudan, where teams screen thousands of travellers daily in a highly mobile environment.
Cross-border movement remains a central challenge in controlling the outbreak. Maintaining safe mobility while strengthening screening and surveillance systems is essential to reducing the risk of wider spread. At the same time, isolation, quarantine and infection prevention capacities in affected areas require additional support.
