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The World Health Organization says an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa is still ahead of health officials trying to contain it, with more than 360 cases and 62 deaths confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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The virus has spread to a new region more than 100 miles from where the original cases were concentrated. Neighboring Uganda has also reported 15 cases and one death.
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Officials from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization held a joint online press conference Friday, launching a six-month plan to tackle the outbreak. The plan seeks to raise $518 million to fund the response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The funding is intended to cover laboratory testing, infection prevention and control measures, strengthened surveillance, and cross-border information sharing between the DRC and neighboring countries. The plan also includes safe and dignified burials, as well as strengthened research and logistics.
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Officials said they have already received funding from various donors but need significantly more to develop a unified response across all African countries.
The joint strategy was shaped in part by lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many African countries could not afford to purchase vaccines. Leaders watched as their populations died from the disease while wealthier nations secured supplies.
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