Insight | Africa

How Trump’s America First policy hit the Ebola response in Congo

6 October 2026, 5:18 pm

1 min read

FILE PHOTO: A drone view of workers at the Ceca-20 cemetery, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus, in Mungwalu, Djugu Territory of Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 14, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/File Photo

Strict US travel and quarantine rules are keeping American medical volunteers away from Congo, where more than 4,000 people have died in the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record. US health officials dispute that their response has been weakened.