Speech by Commissioner Lahbib at the European Parliament on the Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda

Speech by Commissioner Lahbib at the EP on the Ebola Outbreak in DRC and Uganda

The Ebola outbreak continues to expand rapidly in a region marked by conflict, displacement and fragile health systems.

It is a crisis within a crisis, and a reminder that in today's interconnected world, no country can face a major health threat alone. Sustained financing and global coordination are essential.

According to European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), the risk of infection for people living in the EU remains very low. But this is no reason for complacency. We remain vigilant, and the Health Security Committee issued an Opinion on the current recommendations for a common EU approach.

The EU and our Member States are prepared for an imported Ebola case, as France's rapid response has shown.

A few weeks ago, I travelled to Bunia, in Ituri, the epicentre of the outbreak, to show EU solidarity and reaffirm our support. I saw the extraordinary bravery of healthcare and humanitarian workers operating in extremely difficult conditions.

But I also saw that Europe's support matters. Our presence, our reliability and our ability to act quickly are recognised and highly valued by our partners. Our assistance is saving lives.

Major challenges remain. Our priority is to boost surveillance and contact tracing, deploy diagnostics and medical teams, support exit screening, keep humanitarian and health access open, strengthen community trust, and ensure respect for International Humanitarian Law.

Since day one, we have worked with WHO, the Africa CDC, affected countries and partners. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control experts have been deployed through the EU Health Task Force to support Africa CDC and strengthen exit screening.

Overall, the EU is providing immediate and long-term support of EUR 493 million for humanitarian aid, vaccines, treatments and health security in the region.

This includes more than EUR 100 million for the current preparedness and response efforts, with EUR 16.5 million to rapidly deploy diagnostics and strengthen field testing capacities.

We have invested EUR 39.3 million in CEPI – the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations – to support the development of new, broadly protective filovirus vaccines.

We have also mobilised EUR 15 million in humanitarian assistance for WHO and frontline humanitarian partners and transported over 590 tonnes of essential supplies to eastern DRC through 8 EU Humanitarian Air Bridges.

Our response builds on years of EU investment in health security in Africa: healthcare workforce training, public health institutes and laboratory capacities, clinical trials infrastructure, surveillance, logistics, and research into vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.

Beyond our bilateral and Team Europe action, we continue to provide significant multilateral contributions to the global health initiatives such as the Pandemic Fund, Gavi and the Global Fund, which are mobilising flexible funding to help countries respond to Ebola and maintain essential health services.

While responding to the immediate crisis, we must also continue building long-term preparedness and response capacity. This is the aim of the Global Health Resilience Initiative: to help countries prevent, prepare for and respond to current and future outbreaks.

Containing Ebola requires solidarity, political commitment to bring a lasting solution to the conflict, sustained financing, and reliable access to lifesaving humanitarian supplies and medical equipment. I have pleaded for that already in February during my first visit to the Great Lakes region.

We must invest in what is needed today while preparing for tomorrow. This is why sustainable financing and health preparedness must go hand in hand in the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

You can count on my commitment to support the response, mobilise resources, and advocate for humanitarian access and respect for international humanitarian law.