The U.S. State Department has committed more than $112 million in bilateral foreign assistance for the Ebola response within the past two weeks.
“Working with local governments, NGO implementers, and international organizations, the U.S. government continues a comprehensive and coordinated response to contain the Ebola outbreak at its source to protect the American people and prevent further international spread,” the State Department stated in a press release.
“On May 27, the Department finalized plans to allocate an additional $80 million in bilateral assistance to key partners on the ground to expand their ongoing response to the Ebola outbreak. These new resources will enable implementing partners to scale up critical response activities including PPE procurement and delivery, border screening and surveillance, contact tracing, and diagnostics supplies,” the release continued.
“With this new $80 million commitment, the Department has mobilized more than $112 million in bilateral foreign assistance for the Ebola response in less than two weeks,” it added.
“In addition to the aforementioned $112 million in bilateral foreign assistance, the State Department has committed $50 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to fund up to 50 Ebola response clinics in affected areas,” the press release noted.
“State Department implementers have deployed responders to dozens of health facilities in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu in the DRC and are working to improve the capacity of Ebola treatment centers and Ebola transit units across affected regions. The Department is also providing $300 million through OCHA pooled funds to the DRC and Uganda for broader humanitarian efforts,” it stated.
“We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Meanwhile, New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport became the latest site to begin Ebola screening measures.
“Effective May 28, 2026, after 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), CDC will expand public health entry screening for Ebola to include John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). CDC’s Port Health Protection system operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to support these and other public health response activities at U.S. ports of entry,” the CDC added.
“Enhanced public health entry screening is currently conducted at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Public health entry screening serves as one component of CDC’s layered public health approach, which also includes overseas exit screening, airline illness reporting, and post-arrival public health monitoring,” it continued.
Travelers who have been in one of those countries within 21 days prior to arriving in the United States will be escorted to a designated airport screening area, the CDC said. They will then answer public health screening questions and may undergo additional assessments as needed.
The outbreak in Congo is caused by a rare strain of Ebola called Bundibugyo. It has grown rapidly, with 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths in that country, according to the World Health Organization. There have been seven confirmed cases in Uganda. There is no vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain.
The only American who has tested positive so far is a surgeon who had been working at a hospital in Congo. He was flown to Germany for treatment.