Good afternoon.
Thank you for today's discussion and for your continued commitment to responding to the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
As you have heard today, we still face significant challenges, but there are also many encouraging signs.
Four months since it began, the epidemic has been contained mostly in northeastern DRC, with the exception of a small outbreak in Uganda that was swiftly stopped.
Transmission in Ituri is going down;
More than 1700 people have recovered;
Treatment capacity is expanding;
Contact tracing is improving;
Community engagement is increasing;
And clinical trials are advancing.
All of this is no accident. It is due to the leadership of the government of DRC, close partnership between WHO, Africa CDC and hundreds of partners, and the hard work of thousands of health workers and frontline responders.
Nonetheless, this epidemic remains a public health emergency of international concern.
It is unfolding in a context of insecurity, displacement, and a fragile health system.
There is still active transmission in multiple affected locations, and the risk of further spread remains real.
The response will need to be sustained and strengthened over many months.
And for that, funding and international solidarity remain indispensable.
We have received generous support from many donors, for which we are grateful.
We ask all donors to ensure that the government's response plan, and the wider humanitarian response are both fully funded.
We know what must be done. We have the expertise, the tools, and the partnerships.
What is needed now is the collective determination to match the scale of our response to the scale of the challenge.
So let us leave this meeting not only with concern, but with commitments. Not only with solidarity, but with action. And not only with plans, but with the resources required to deliver them.
I thank you.