The reduction in development aid has contributed to the failure to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. German organizations are urging a significant increase in funding to help halt the spread.
The Ebola epidemic continues to expand in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with over 900 suspected cases and 220 fatalities recorded so far.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned that the virus will keep spreading throughout the DRC.
"We are confronting an extremely severe and challenging outbreak. It will worsen before it improves," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated earlier this week.
The global health agency aims to deliver assistance on the ground as rapidly as possible by dispatching equipment and medical specialists.
However, the WHO's resources are constrained, particularly following the withdrawal of the United States from the organization. The US was the largest single contributor to the global health body. This funding shortfall has forced the WHO to scale back and even discontinue certain programs, including those in the DRC.
Although Germany is currently the largest donor to the WHO, it has decreased its contributions. It has also reduced the budget of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) this year.
"The 2026 budget indicates that all funds allocated to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have been cut back," said Julia Stoffner, a health policy expert at the German Protestant aid organization Brot für die Welt.
These budget reductions include voluntary contributions to the WHO. The BMZ has been reducing funding for healthcare programs for years, Stoffner told DW: "When health systems in the global south become weaker and weaker or are no longer supported, this contributes to outbreaks like the one in the DRC going unnoticed for a very long time before becoming apparent."
CARE, another humanitarian relief organization, has also called on the international community to invest more in aid and education. Caritas, a Catholic welfare organization, has issued a similar appeal.
Insufficient funds to combat Ebola
Josue Ibulungu manages the office of German disaster relief organization Diakonie in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, in eastern DRC. He is working to coordinate assistance for those in the Ebola outbreak area but stated that only 30% of the demand can be met.
"The situation is extremely challenging for all humanitarian aid workers; funding cuts from many donors make the situation very difficult. Organizations are even struggling to secure funds to enable Ebola vaccinations," he told DW.
"Many hospitals have been destroyed by the war," Ibulungu added. "This makes it very hard for doctors and nurses to help Ebola patients because they lack the necessary equipment." Government troops, militias, insurgents, and criminal gangs have been vying for control over eastern DRC for decades. The tensions stem from a desire to control natural resources, ethnic conflicts, and geopolitical interests of Rwanda and Uganda.
Germany's BMZ stated that the DRC government has received around €160 million in development aid designated for 2026 and 2027. This is less than what was provided in previous years, as the BMZ's budget has been reduced for several consecutive years.
Disease prevention is not a single BMZ budget item but is addressed through various programs, ministry spokesperson Benedikt Schöneck said on Wednesday: "Looking to the future, it is clear that cuts in prevention support will of course have a corresponding impact."
He also said Germany was providing "massive funds" to ensure financial security for international initiatives in the coming years, yet did not provide any specific figures. While funds had been reduced, the BMZ was committed to offering reliable assistance in epidemic prevention, Schöneck said. The ministry intends to send a team of experts to eastern DRC, or establish one in the region, to train additional aid workers on the ground.
Aid boost needed
Brot für die Welt is calling for a substantial funding increase to address the Ebola epidemic. The 500 protective suits pledged by the BMZ are insufficient, Stoffner told DW.
"Funding for global health efforts as a whole must be increased," she said. "Civil society organizations on the ground must be strengthened, as these are the people who know the needs and the regions best. They have access to the communities and have their trust. The local population is crucial to containing this outbreak, especially as there are no vaccines."
The Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is neither a vaccine nor a cure, is prevalent in eastern DRC. Developing a vaccine for this variant will take at least nine months, predicted Gisela Schneider of the German Institute for Medical Mission, a Christian aid organization focused on global health. Currently, there is an urgent shortage of rapid testing kits and labs to trace and monitor the Bundibugyo strain outbreak.
Former German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who held office during the COVID-19 pandemic, is also advocating for an increase in development aid to combat the pandemic. He stated that battling the spread of epidemics on the African continent is not only a humanitarian necessity but also in Europe's own interest.
"Eroding health care systems could cause a major influx of refugees from African countries in Europe," Lauterbach told German daily Rheinische Post. He added that demands expressed by right-wing populists to further cut development aid were wrong and could "backfire."
This article was originally written in German.