Democratic Republic of Congo

Congo Launches Ebola Vaccines Amid Deadly Outbreak

Is Congo's Ebola crisis caused by Trump's USAID cuts or by the Congolese government's own corruption and incompetence?

Published AUG 28

Congo Launches Ebola Vaccines Amid Deadly Outbreak

story

Above: Health workers wearing protective equipment in Maluku, Democratic Republic of the Congo on Aug. 20. Image credit: Sophie Douce/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

The Trump administration's dismantling of USAID directly undermined the global health infrastructure needed to fight Ebola in Congo. Specialists who managed outbreak response, logistics and field operations are gone, leaving critical gaps. During the last major Ebola outbreak, the U.S. brought exactly the same vaccine and testing capabilities that would make a world of difference when faced with this new strain.

MS Now Harvard Health

Pro-establishment narrative

Blaming USAID cuts for Congo's Ebola crisis ignores the real problem — Congolese government corruption and incompetence delayed recognition and response to the outbreak entirely. Rwanda, which borders the chaos, has escaped the worst of the damage. It's reductive to blame America when incompetence and attacks on health care workers, driven by online conspiracies, are the biggest impediments to recovery.

American Enterprise Institute RFI