The Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR) has said that the freeze in US funding is impacting operations on the ground as it attempts to fight the ongoing mpox outbreak.
In the third meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee for mpox response on 17 March, the DRC reported that the suspension is impacting the transportation of laboratory diagnostics and clinical specimens. The affected logistics have resulted in a testing rate decline, meaning an analysis of the spread of infection is hard to ascertain.
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Mpox is diagnosed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on skin lesion samples taken from a patient suspected of infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been busy improving mpox diagnosis in Africa, listing the first in-vitro diagnostic for the virus under its emergency use framework. The agency has also been supplying the DRC with on-site testing technology that turnarounds sample analysis in one to two days. The regional province of South Kivu was given 6,000 sampling kits and transportation packaging in December 2024.
US President Donald Trump has overseen a swathe of foreign aid freezes, affecting countries supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This includes HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis programmes, amongst others. Most of USAID’s money is spent on sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Europe. Europe’s primary receiver currently is Ukraine. Africa’s fight against mpox, which relies heavily on US funding, has been severely affected by the blanket legislations.
Between January 2022 and January 2025, there have been almost 130,000 confirmed cases of mpox and over 280 deaths. The African region accounts for 61% of the cases and 72% of the deaths reported globally over the past year.
The DRC Government said it was exploring solutions with other partners while the WHO’s operational arm added that alternative funding sources are being explored with non-traditional donors.
The agency has so far helped raise $65.6m to help with mpox response efforts, with the US responsible for 33% of funding. However, $7.5m is currently inaccessible due to the US Government’s funding freeze.
While DRC has already reported observable consequences, the WHO expects the freeze to impact Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, and Rwanda. Broader challenges are anticipated throughout the year, with the agency stating that the reduction in predictable funding could derail the progress of the mpox response so far.
Last month, Africa CDC director-general Dr Jean Kaseya stated: “Africa CDC will intensify efforts to improve vaccine delivery strategies, strengthen surveillance, accelerate laboratory decentralisation, improve outbreak monitoring, and integrate mpox response efforts into broader public health initiatives.
“The organisation will also advocate for alternative funding mechanisms, including increased domestic investment and innovative financing, to mitigate the impact of external funding suspensions.”
The WHO has found itself at increasing odds with the current US administration on foreign aid policy. The agency’s director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has asked the US to reconsider its pause on international healthcare aid.
