Ebola Response Update – June 3, 2026

The Department of State, in close coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and in partnership with the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, is continuing to mount a rapid and comprehensive response to the Ebola outbreak.

The Department's highest priority remains protecting the health of the American people and preventing this Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores. To that end, the Department of State, in close coordination with the CDC, DoW, and the broader U.S. interagency, has published guidance on a voluntary process to assist U.S. citizens who have possible Ebola exposure or who request assistance to depart the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, or Uganda during the ongoing Ebola outbreak. U.S. citizens will remain subject to relevant U.S. and foreign government health, travel, and screening measures. Information regarding this new process may be found on the Department's Ebola information page.

U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) for the most up to date information for their specific location.

The Department of State's foreign assistance announcements to date to combat the outbreak have exceeded $162 million. The Department has rapidly established six dedicated Ebola response clinics and is supporting dozens of health clinics to screen potential cases and transport and treat confirmed cases. U.S. assistance for the Ebola response is in addition to the significant U.S. health assistance to affected countries for HIV, TB, malaria, and other health areas. Beyond health assistance, the Department is also providing $350 million through OCHA pooled funds to the DRC, South Sudan, and Uganda for humanitarian efforts as part of $1.8 billion in additional U.S. funding to OCHA announced on May 14.

Recent U.S.-supported response activities include:

• Border Screening and Surveillance
  • U.S.-funded partner, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has established health screening and surveillance operations at points-of-entry and points-of-control in Burundi, the DRC, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda.
• Contact Tracing and Risk Communications
  • In the DRC, U.S.-funded partner FHI 360 has engaged local leaders, the faith community, and youth populations on Ebola risk communications. Engagements with Provincial Youth Council Members and a national Congolese Parents Association, along with radio spots in French and Swahili, have enhanced awareness of Ebola prevention measures, dispelled false rumors related to the outbreak, and built trust in Ebola treatment centers and response teams.
• Diagnostic Supplies
  • In the DRC, U.S.-funded partner FHI 360 has strengthened diagnostic and testing capacity through: training laboratory staff; transporting samples for analysis; and helping the DRC National Laboratory increase lab capacity in five additional health zones. Decentralizing lab activity will greatly increase testing capacity and speed up the time between sample collection and testing.
• Detection and Treatment
  • Department of State-funded implementers have established six specialized facilities to isolate and treat suspected or confirmed Ebola cases, including five transit centers and one Ebola treatment unit. Implementers also continue to support 43 health clinics to prevent transmission, screen suspected cases, and transport patients to dedicated Ebola treatment facilities.
• Food Assistance to Suspected and Confirmed Cases and Health Care Workers
  • The UN World Food Program (WFP), supported by funding from the United States and other donors, is providing food assistance to people suspected of having Ebola, people confirmed to have Ebola, and health care workers in Goma, the capital city of the DRC's North Kivu Province. WFP has expanded its targeted food assistance to North Kivu's Beni Territory and South Kivu Province's capital city of Bukavu since May 31.

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