The U.S. State Department has committed more than $112 million in bilateral foreign assistance for the Ebola response in 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 said 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 the following critical response activities: PPE procurement and delivery, border screening and surveillance, contact tracing, and diagnostics supplies,” it 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,” the press release added.

More from the press release:

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  • PPE Procurement and Delivery: UNICEF and the World Food Program will expand procurement and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) and commodities to protect healthcare workers in affected and high-risk areas.
  • Border Screening and Surveillance: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) will enhance health screening at regional points of entry including airports and key land and water crossings; increase risk communication and community engagement efforts to inform the public on how to reduce their risk and better protect themselves; and improve surveillance to monitor, detect, and report new cases.
  • Contact Tracing: Interchurch Medical Assistance (IMA) World Health, World Vision, and UNICEF will expand contact tracing and associated community-based surveillance to identify individuals potentially exposed to Ebola and prevent further spread.
  • Diagnostic Supplies: FHI 360 will increase procurement and distribution of test kits and support the safe transportation of samples to improve detection and identification of Ebola cases and inform response activities and reporting.

“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 continued.

“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 areas. The Department is also providing $300 million through OCHA pooled funds to the DRC and Uganda for broader humanitarian efforts in the affected region,” it added.

“We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

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Meanwhile, New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport became the latest 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. John F. Kennedy International Airport previously conducted enhanced public health entry screening and has established operational procedures in place,” the CDC stated.

“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 added.

NBC News shared further:

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.

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