The International Monetary Fund is considering including pandemic preparedness and response reforms in its financing program for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The reason is the rapid spread of Ebola, which exposed weaknesses in the financing of the country's healthcare system, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
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The Congo, together with the WHO and the World Bank, is working on measures that could be included in the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Facility. In particular, the parties are discussing the creation of a separate financing strategy for pandemic prevention and response.
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The fund considers the Congo's epidemic preparedness system to be "fragmented and incomplete." Cuts in international aid have further weakened the country's ability to detect and contain new outbreaks.
As of September 6, the number of confirmed Ebola cases had reached 6,686, of which 3,226 had resulted in death. The epidemic has spread to 6 provinces and remains uncontrolled.
According to estimates by the Congo and its partners, approximately $1.3 billion is needed to contain the outbreak over the next 6 months. The IMF warns that a prolonged epidemic could increase government spending and harm trade, transport, agriculture, and the logistics of the mining industry.