The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned that humanitarian organisations and other aid partners that fail to account for funds received for Ebola response activities could be barred from operating in affected countries and blacklisted across Africa.
The agency’s Director-General, Dr Jean Kaseya, issued the warning amid concerns that more than $700 million in international funding for the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains unaccounted for.
According to figures presented by Kaseya, international donors reported disbursing approximately $962 million to organisations implementing Ebola response programmes in the DRC. However, a verification exercise with Congolese health authorities traced only slightly more than $200 million to organisations involved in the response.
Only about one-third of the implementing partners attended a meeting convened by the Congolese health authorities to provide financial information. Organisations that participated reported receiving $228 million, of which $127 million had been spent, while approximately $100 million remained available.
Kaseya said the discrepancy raised serious concerns about transparency and financial reporting, preventing governments from obtaining a complete picture of how resources were mobilised, spent and translated into results.
He stressed that the funding gap should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of embezzlement, noting that further investigations were needed to establish what happened to the money. Nevertheless, he warned that organisations unwilling to comply with accountability requirements could face restrictions or blacklisting.
Congolese health authorities have also called on aid partners to provide details of their funding sources, planned activities and implementation progress. The government has reportedly restricted the number of organisations accredited to participate in the response while demanding stronger oversight.
The controversy comes as the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola continues to spread across parts of Central and East Africa, putting additional pressure on already stretched health systems.
Africa CDC has argued that transparent financial reporting and stronger government oversight are essential to ensuring that emergency funds reach frontline health facilities and affected communities.
The agency’s warning underscores the importance of accountability in humanitarian operations, particularly during public health emergencies where delays in delivering resources can undermine disease-control efforts and public confidence.