Pretoria: President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa will increase its financial contribution to the Ebola response effort to US$13.5 million, reaffirming the country's commitment to supporting African nations affected by the outbreak.
According to South African Government News Agency, President Ramaphosa, in his capacity as the African Union Champion for Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention and Response, made the announcement during a High-Level Virtual Meeting of Heads of State, Government and Partners on the Ebola outbreak. The meeting was convened by the President of the Republic of Burundi and Chairperson of the African Union, Evariste Ndayishimiye. It aims to mobilize African and international solidarity to contain the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, while strengthening preparedness in countries at risk of regional transmission.
The President called on leaders to maintain or increase their pledges and urged those who made commitments at the previous meeting to convert them in full into cash, medical countermeasures, or technical assistance. He emphasized the urgency, stating, "With no vaccine or antiviral, every day that transmission continues unchecked, the human cost rises. The West Africa Ebola epidemic demonstrated that delayed action can transform a localized outbreak into a regional and global crisis. This is why our response must focus on breaking the transmission and stopping Ebola at its source."
President Ramaphosa also cautioned that public health measures are being undermined by the volatile environment in which the response is being carried out. He highlighted the need for political leaders to assist by creating safe corridors for the passage of goods and services and to seek a ceasefire to allow the Ebola response to proceed unhindered. He stressed the importance of strengthening cross-border collaboration and expanding rapid diagnostic testing, contact tracing, and community awareness.
He further noted the lack of biotechnology against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola and stressed that Africa cannot depend indefinitely on external markets and production systems during health emergencies. He called for a turning point, urging African leaders to accelerate investment in local manufacturing, strengthen the African Medicines Agency, and operationalize the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism.
The President concluded by calling upon African financial institutions, development banks, philanthropies, and the African private sector to join governments in this effort. He also urged international partners to continue standing with Africa in a spirit of solidarity and mutual responsibility.