Bond echoes NGO warning that global ODA cuts risk worsening current Ebola outbreak

• As UK Minister for International Development states global aid cuts are ‘counterproductive’ to fighting the spread of disease, Bond joins other NGOs in warning that global ODA cuts have risked worsening the current Ebola outbreak. 
• Bond urges the UK and other governments to step up to save lives and help to protect communities in DRC, Uganda and beyond from Ebola. 

As cases of Ebola continue to rise in eastern DRC and Uganda, Bond echoes warnings by the International NGO sector that cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) may risk worsening the current outbreak.  

Since the outbreak was confirmed on 15 May, there have been 550 confirmed cases of Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo up to 7 June, as well as 19 cases in neighbouring Uganda as of 8 June – with agencies warning that the outbreak could be significantly larger. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has graded the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.  

The international response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2016, in which the UK played a major role, demonstrated the importance of global cooperation between governments, NGOs and other partners in containing, and ultimately ending, the epidemic. Between 2014 and 2016, flows of international assistance from the UK and other international donors proved fundamental in supporting local responders, the UK Armed Forces and NGOs to rapidly construct treatment centres, provide training and resources, and strengthen local health systems to prevent future outbreaks.  

Modelling by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published last week, suggests the current outbreak could reach the scale of the 2014-2016 outbreak without strong public health interventions. However, experts have warned that widespread global cuts to international development funding may have contributed to a delay in detection of the current outbreak – particularly due to cuts by the US, who have historically been a key funder of disease detection and preparedness infrastructure in DRC and other countries. US foreign assistance to the DRC fell almost 70% from $1.4 billion in 2024 to $431 million in 2025, now down to just $21 million so far this year. 

NGOs, including Bond members, are already supporting the response in DRC and other countries, by providing equipment and training to local health centres, increasing access to clean water, and working with communities to deliver lifesaving information. However, they report that funding cuts forced essential programmes in DRC, such as those that detect and prevent Ebola, and provide safe shelter and sanitation to local communities, to close before the current outbreak.  

Romilly Greenhill, CEO of Bond, the UK network for NGOs, said: 

“This outbreak must be a wake-up call for all governments, especially those whose cuts to international development funding have weakened health systems that detect, prevent and fight the spread of diseases like Ebola. We agree with the UK Minister for International Development’s assertion that widespread reductions in international aid budgets have been ‘counterproductive’ to tackling outbreaks like this one.

While we welcome the UK’s commitment to provide up to £20 million to support the response to the outbreak, this is currently just 5% – a tiny fraction – of the funding we provided in response to the larger outbreak in West Africa, in 2014-16. 

With no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for this outbreak, and a global health system already under strain, governments including the UK must learn from the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak – by supporting a well-resourced, coordinated response to prevent the further spread of Ebola, and to protect communities in DRC, Uganda, and around the world from Ebola and other infectious diseases.” 

ENDS.  

Notes to Editors: 

1. NGOs including Bond members and their partners are responding in DRC and Uganda – including ActionAid, CAFOD, Concern, Christian Aid, International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, Tearfund and World Vision.
2. Though allocations of the UK aid budget were announced in March 2026, before the current outbreak, these allocations reveal 56% cuts to bilateral UK aid to Africa from 2024/25, the year before the UK aid cuts, to 2028/29. In March 2026, funding for key multilateral funds that support global health, including the Pandemic Fund and Global Polio Eradication Initiative, was also announced to be cut. In 2025, the UK’s contribution to the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria was announced, representing a 15% decline from its previous pledge. 
3. For further information or interviews, please contact Emily Loynes on [email protected] or 07909947850
4. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 330 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.