US pledges $267m more to fight Ebola in central Africa

The US State Department on Wednesday pledged an additional $267 million to fight the Ebola outbreak in central Africa, as health authorities battle to get the deadly virus under control.

Senior State Department officials announced the funding on the sidelines of ​the UN General Assembly, hoping for pledges of new ​funds from other countries to meet a target of $2 billion to fight ⁠the disease, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the ​Congo.

The outbreak was detected in May and is already the second ​most lethal on record, behind one in West Africa from 2014 to 2016.

On Wednesday, Congolese Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka described the ​outbreak as a “major test” for the country.

“For the DRC, ​fighting this epidemic is an absolute priority. After having contained 16 previous ‌outbreaks, ⁠the DRC is mobilising recognised scientific and operational expertise. And thanks to national mobilisation and the support of our partners, the response has recently begun producing tangible results,” she ​told the United ​Nations General ⁠Assembly.

The US pledge on Wednesday brings the Trump administration’s commitment to tackling the outbreak to $886 ​million, including $107 million from the Department of Health ​and ⁠Human Services in addition to State Department funding.

The assistance would help countries contain the outbreak at its source, one of ⁠the ​officials said, such as by building ​treatment facilities and providing diagnostics and medical countermeasures for health workers in the field.