From missing millions to lack of accountability: Questions mount over Ebola response funds

 

A Kenyan Ministry of Health official checks the temperature of a traveller at the Busia One Stop Border Post (OSBP) on the Kenya-Uganda border as health authorities step up Ebola screening measures, in Busia on October 12, 2026. [AFP]

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has vowed that no Ebola billionaires will emerge under his watch.

But with Kenya yet to publicly account for how funds allocated to its Ebola response were spent, questions are mounting over whether the government will release an audit detailing the expenditure in terms of how much has been used and how much is remaining from the total received so far.

The demand for accountability comes as an international response worth nearly US$3 billion faces scrutiny, with frontline health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reporting shortages of basic supplies, protective equipment, fuel and even salaries six months into the outbreak.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record remains out of control, warning that despite hundreds of millions of dollars already disbursed by international partners, critical gaps continue to undermine efforts to contain the virus and save lives.

“Despite the vast amounts of money provided for the response, many frontline responders are left trying to contain the outbreak with empty hands and empty pockets,” said Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, MSF International President.

“Our teams are often left speechless by the dysfunctions they witness in many areas. Six months into the response, this situation is simply unacceptable.”

In a statement issued in Geneva on November 12, MSF described a response characterised by untrained and unpaid personnel, ambulances and vehicles without fuel, surveillance teams that exist on paper but are absent on the ground, and community workers without phones or mobile data to report suspected infections.

Some healthcare facilities, the organisation said, lack the supplies and technical support required to safely manage suspected Ebola patients.

The concerns are particularly serious in epidemiological surveillance, which is essential in identifying infections, tracing contacts and interrupting transmission.

MSF said close to two-thirds of reported Ebola-related deaths over the past month occurred in communities rather than treatment centres, pointing to gaps in early detection and access to care.

ALSO READ: Kenya to establish cost of Ebola response after expensive quarantine exercise

Its data from Ituri province showed that only nine per cent of Ebola patients treated by its teams had previously been identified as contacts by the surveillance system.

“Data collected by MSF illustrates just how serious the problem is,” Abdelmoneim said, calling for urgent improvements in oversight, staffing and operational support.

A nurse is assisted by a colleague in donning personal protective equipment (PPE) at an isolation facility prepared to receive potential Ebola patients during a media visit to Nairobi Hospital in Nairobi on October 7, 2026. [AFP]

The organisation also questioned the distribution of response resources, saying some outbreak hotspots were receiving inadequate attention.

In North Kivu, MSF said the response had been too slow to mobilise relative to the scale of the epidemic, while Haut-Uele remained significantly overlooked.

In Beni health zone, North Kivu, close to three-quarters of Ebola patients contracted the disease in healthcare facilities, according to the organisation. Some facilities were operating without adequate sterilisation capacity, water, chlorine or triage systems, turning places intended to provide care into potential centres of transmission.

“Too few responders are operating beyond the initial hotspot to tackle the spread of the virus in other hard-hit parts of the country,” Abdelmoneim said.

He further criticised the limited involvement of private healthcare providers, including clinics, hospitals and pharmacies, as well as traditional healers, despite their role as some of the first points of contact for people seeking treatment.

The concerns come amid growing scrutiny over the nearly US$3 billion mobilised for the regional Ebola response.

In September, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director General Dr Jean Kaseya told The Standard that approximately US$2.997 billion had been raised following a G20+ Foreign Ministers meeting in New York.

“Our objective was to raise around $2 billion. So, in total, now that I'm talking to you, we have $2.997 billion raised, almost around $3 billion,” Kaseya said.

However, the figure represented commitments and pledges, not money already fully disbursed. Between US$700 million and US$800 million was described as new funding.

Kaseya said there was a need to track every dollar from the point of commitment through disbursement, implementation and the actual results delivered in affected communities.

MSF's latest assessment puts that accountability question into sharper focus: how can such substantial resources be mobilised while frontline teams continue to operate without basic equipment, adequate staffing and operational support?

ALSO READ: Duale rules out Ebola-free certificates for international travel

In Kenya, the government is yet to publicly release an audit report detailing how funds allocated to the response to the imported Bundibugyo Ebola case were received, distributed and spent.

The absence of a publicly available report leaves questions about the total cost of the response, the institutions and agencies that received funding, and whether resources reached the facilities and personnel responsible for containing the outbreak.

The issue is particularly pertinent as Kenya has begun the 42-day countdown towards declaring the outbreak over, following the recovery of patients and completion of monitoring for contacts.

Duale had previously warned against individuals seeking to exploit the Ebola response through fraudulent procurement deals, declaring that there would be no “Ebola billionaires” under his leadership.

In remarks reported on October 23, Duale dismissed claims that Sh70 billion had been set aside for the response and cautioned individuals against seeking fake tenders at Afya House.

“I want to tell the nation that there will be no ‘Ebola billionaires’ under my leadership. So msiende kumangamanga kule Afya House mkitafuta tender bandia,” he said.

He also drew comparisons with the Covid-19 response, when allegations of irregular procurement triggered public outrage over the handling of emergency funds.

Cabinet Secretary of Health Aden Duale speaks at a press conference in Nairobi on October 6, 2026. [AFP]

However, the government has yet to publicly provide a detailed breakdown of Ebola response expenditure or indicate when an audit report will be released.

Questions about whether an audit has been commissioned, the amount spent and the institutions that received the funds remain unanswered in the information available for this report.

The Ministry of Health needs to account for the resources allocated to the emergency response, particularly as the country approaches the end of its surveillance countdown. The release of an audit would provide an opportunity to demonstrate how the money was used and whether it reached the intended frontline activities.

Meanwhile, MSF acknowledged that the Congolese authorities and their international partners had made progress, including strengthening diagnostic capacity, expanding isolation and treatment units, increasing community engagement and launching trials for potential treatments and vaccines.

However, it said these gains had not resolved the operational weaknesses undermining the response.

The Congolese government has announced measures to strengthen oversight and transparency among organisations involved in the response. MSF says those commitments must now translate into concrete changes on the ground.

With the outbreak having surpassed 11,000 cases and 5,000 deaths, the organisation is calling on the Congolese government and United Nations agencies to ensure that resources already mobilised reach areas with the greatest needs and that response personnel are properly trained, paid, equipped and supported.

“This is not just a question of operational effectiveness it is also a question of restoring trust among communities that have already paid an enormous price,” Abdelmoneim said.

MSF says it has allocated €64.6 million to its Ebola response, funded almost entirely through private donations. Its teams have admitted approximately 1,500 patients with confirmed Ebola infections to its supported facilities over the past six months.

As of early November, MSF was operating in five of the eight affected provinces, supporting eight Ebola treatment centres and deploying three rapid response teams.

The billions mobilised for the Ebola response have raised expectations of an effective response. But as MSF's findings expose persistent shortages in the DRC and Kenya awaits a public account of its own expenditure, the question remains: who is tracking the money, and what evidence is there that it is reaching the people fighting the outbreak?