AFRICA CDC THREATENS BLACKLIST OVER OUTBREAK FUND TRANSPARENCY

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that aid organisations failing to explain how they manage Ebola response funds could face blacklisting across Africa.

The warning follows concerns about gaps in financial reporting on money provided to tackle the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Reuters, Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said international donors had disbursed about $962 million directly to organisations carrying out response activities. However, the information submitted by participating groups left more than $700 million yet to be accounted for through financial reporting.

Kaseya stressed that it was too early to describe the gap as embezzlement. The concern, he explained, was that incomplete reporting prevented authorities from knowing how much funding had been received, how it was being used and what remained available.

Only about a third of implementing partners attended a recent meeting organised by Congo’s health ministry and shared financial information, he said.

Kaseya warned that organisations failing to comply with reporting requirements could be barred from operating in Congo and blacklisted across the continent.

Congo’s Health Minister, Samuel-Roger Kamba, also called on aid groups to disclose their funding sources, objectives and progress.

For affected communities, the issue goes beyond financial records. Authorities need accurate information to identify gaps, coordinate services and direct resources where they are most needed.

Africa CDC’s demand is clear: organisations receiving outbreak funds must provide a transparent account of how those resources support the response.