Jim Clarken: Ebola is spreading in DRC because of cuts to global aid funding 

This outbreak is the predictable result of international powers withdrawing support from already fragile health systems

Elon Musk with a chainsaw he received from Argentina's president Javier Milei, right. The chainsaw was a reference to Musk's cuts to USAID. Picture: AP/Jose Luis Magana

What is unfolding in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not just a localised health emergency, it’s a warning sign of a much deeper and dangerous global failure.

A year ago, Dr Manenji Mangundu, country director for Oxfam, laid out the bleak outlook when he estimated USAID had funded 88% of healthcare in eastern DRC. When that funding was slashed, healthcare providers closed their doors and those locked out immediately suffered.