Trump Created the Perfect Storm to Allow for Rapid Spread of Ebola
Dismantling of USAID, Firing of Critical Staff, Instability in the Region Propel Cases to 600+ and Deaths to 130+
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration’s actions—and Congressional Republicans’ silence—laid the groundwork for the rapid spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and surrounding countries.
Around the world, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, programs that supported disease detection, infection control, emergency supplies, sanitation, and frontline response were cut, paused, or destabilized. Reporting indicates that even in very vulnerable countries with a history of outbreaks, response teams were frozen, local health systems were weakened, and organizations on the ground were forced to reduce staff and programming such as in the very areas now facing Ebola.
“Ebola does not wait for bureaucratic reorganizations. It spreads when surveillance systems are weakened, health workers are laid off, clinics lack protective equipment, and communities lose the trusted partners who help detect and contain outbreaks before they become public health emergencies,” Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “This is the perfect storm President Trump created. He recklessly dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), withheld and slashed other United States assistance to the region, fired critical staff, and created global health chaos. This is not efficiency. It is dangerous neglect. The United States spent years building the relationships, supply chains, laboratories, and community health networks that help stop deadly diseases at their source. The Trump administration tore into that capacity and now wants to pretend the consequences were unforeseeable.”
The current outbreak has already reached the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, and the World Health Organization has declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
“With more than 600 suspected cases and more than 130 suspected deaths now reported, this moment demands speed, coordination, and experienced partners on the ground,” DeLauro continued. “Global health security is national security. When we abandon outbreak prevention overseas, we increase the risk of deadly diseases spreading farther, faster, and with greater cost to human life. We must rebuild the global health capacity this administration recklessly destroyed.”
Ranking Member DeLauro previously highlighted how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must have the resources it needs to conduct ongoing disease surveillance and engage with other international actors to contain this outbreak and prevent future infectious disease outbreaks.
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