Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gurinder Singh Josan and Kirsty McNeill

Tuesday 1st September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Gurinder Singh Josan (Smethwick) (Lab)]

T6. Will the Minister update the House about the steps that the Government are taking to tackle the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

[The Minister for International Development (Kirsty McNeill)]

We are working closely with international partners to support the African-led response. We acted early to allocate an initial £26.9 million to fund the immediate response in the DRC and Uganda and to support the World Health Organisation and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in co-ordinating the regional response. I am pleased to announce to the House a further £51.8 million, which takes our total funding to £78.7 million. We are also taking a leading role internationally. I met Dr Jean Kaseya, the head of Africa CDC, in Addis Ababa last week, and I will discuss this issue with ministerial counterparts ahead of the UN General Assembly later this month.