The Government of United Kingdom has allocated up to £20 million in new aid funding to help contain the deadly Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a press release issued on 21 May 2026 by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. The funding will support a DRC-led response to protect frontline responders and local communities. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will co-chair a ministerial group to coordinate the government’s response. The funding will help the World Health Organisation, UN, international and NGO partners respond rapidly to the outbreak. It aims to strengthen disease surveillance, support frontline health workers, improve infection prevention and control, and help affected communities access lifesaving care.
Most confirmed cases are located in the Ituri region of eastern DRC. The region is already facing significant humanitarian and security challenges. The UK has been a long-standing partner to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, consistently supporting the government to strengthen its health system and respond to high-risk disease outbreaks. This includes targeted support through the Supporting Health Emergency Response in DRC (SHER) programme. SHER has provided over £18 million since 2024 to support the national response to Ebola, Mpox and cholera in partnership with organizations such as WHO and UNICEF.
UK humanitarian partners are already responding on the ground to contain the outbreak. Through the Strategic Assistance for Emergency Response (SAFER) consortium, the UK is pivoting funding to improve water, sanitation and hygiene systems. The consortium is also ensuring frontline responders and local communities have vital personal protective equipment, and strengthening Ebola containment measures. The UK is refocusing efforts to protect maternity facilities and support civil society organizations to strengthen prevention and control. These steps aim to mitigate the risk of increased birth complications and sexual violence during the outbreak.
On 21 May, the Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care chaired a cross-government meeting to coordinate the UK’s response. The meeting addressed how to protect British nationals overseas and engage with international partners.
“It is vital we act now to save lives – outbreaks like Ebola do not stop at borders, and neither can we,” Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said. She added that the outbreak is “a stark reminder that global health threats require a global response.”
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is assessing routes by which travellers enter the UK from the affected countries.
UKHSA has also activated the Returning Workers Scheme, which aims to protect and monitor the health of individuals travelling from the UK to affected areas for their work. Dr Mike Reynolds, Incident Director at UKHSA, said the current outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is serious, but the risk to the UK population is low. The NHS has safe procedures in place for any such cases, with specialist centres available. The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team stands ready to activate if requests for support are received from the DRC or Ugandan government, WHO, or other partners. The UK is also working with authorities in DRC and Uganda, WHO, and international partners to fund and accelerate research on vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics.
