Africa's top public health body and Congolese health authorities this week called for greater transparency in the use of Ebola response funds, saying financial information provided by aid organisations left more than $700 million of donor money yet to be accounted for, Reuters reported.
International donors have disbursed about $962 million to organisations implementing Ebola response activities in Congo, rather than to the government, Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa CDC, told Reuters. Only about a third of implementing partners attended a recent meeting organised by Congo's health ministry and shared financial information. Those organisations reported receiving $228 million, of which $127 million had been spent and roughly $100 million remained available.
Kaseya told Reuters on Thursday it was too early to speak of embezzlement, but described the gap as a major transparency and financial reporting problem that prevented authorities from having a full picture of resources mobilised and spent. He warned that non-compliant organisations could be barred from working in Congo and blacklisted across Africa.
Congo's health minister Samuel-Roger Kamba echoed Kaseya's concerns in a post on X on Thursday night, saying aid groups are required to provide details on funding sources, goals and the level of implementation to his ministry.
The concerns could complicate the response as mistrust of health workers and agencies remains a key obstacle to containing the outbreak. Previous Ebola responses in Congo were marked by allegations of favouritism and corruption, Reuters reported. Black Heritage Radio reported that Kaseya raised the issue at a press conference in Kinshasa on Wednesday 14 October, and that a joint verification exercise with Congolese health authorities could only trace slightly more than $200 million to the structures carrying out the response.