U.S. Sends $160 Million to Ebola Fight as WHO Exit Leaves Response Sidelined
Updated
Updated · The Atlantic · May 28
U.S. Sends $160 Million to Ebola Fight as WHO Exit Leaves Response Sidelined
3 articles · Updated · The Atlantic · May 28
More than 1,000 potential Ebola cases and over 230 deaths have pushed the U.S. into a response that experts say remains peripheral to the main international effort.
Nine days elapsed before American health officials learned of the outbreak, after the U.S. had already withdrawn from the WHO, leaving Washington outside the agency coordinating the emergency across nearly 200 member states.
The Trump administration has pledged over $160 million, CDC staff, disaster teams and up to 50 treatment units, but experts say the effort looks siloed and poorly aligned with urgent needs such as testing, tracing, PPE and community outreach.
Bundibugyo Ebola lacks licensed vaccines and treatments, is often missed by field tests, and is spreading through conflict-hit areas of Congo, making delays and duplication especially costly.
Travel restrictions, evacuating exposed Americans to Europe, and a stated priority of keeping Ebola out of the U.S. have reinforced an 'America First' approach that critics say weakens coordination and could leave the U.S. less prepared for future outbreaks.
By going it alone on Ebola, is the U.S. protecting itself or endangering the world?
With global health systems fracturing, are we entering a new era of 'pandemic nationalism'?
Ebola 2026: Bundibugyo Outbreak Exposes Global Health Gaps, U.S. Policy Shifts, and Urgent Need for International Action
Overview
The 2026 Ebola outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, is a major public health crisis affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, with Ituri as the epicenter and additional cases in Goma near the Rwanda border. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the outbreak does not yet qualify as a pandemic emergency, but the situation is serious due to the lack of licensed vaccines or approved treatments. In response, WHO and partners are accelerating research on potential vaccines and therapeutics, while authorities focus on strengthening surveillance, laboratory capacity, and infection control to contain the spread.