Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., have urged the State Department to release congressionally-approved funds to aid women and children affected by the Ebola outbreak in East Africa. In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators requested the release of $608 million in international family-planning funds and $1.7 million in already purchased family-planning supplies.
The senators stated that the supplies, which they implied include condoms, hormonal contraception, post-rape care medicine, and hemorrhage medicines, are stored in Geel, Belgium, and risk being destroyed if not used. They emphasized the catastrophic impact of Ebola during pregnancy, noting a nearly 100% fetal loss rate and a high maternal mortality risk due to severe hemorrhaging.
"By providing women with the option to voluntarily prevent unplanned pregnancies and to protect themselves from transmission of the virus and have access to clinics, the United States can prevent further deaths of women and the cruel and certain death of any fetus exposed to the virus," the lawmakers wrote.
Murkowski and Shaheen also requested a "humanitarian exception" to support the United Nations Population Fund's existing health clinics in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As of July 29, the CDC reported 3,532 Ebola cases and 1,556 deaths in the DRC, a mortality rate of approximately 44%. In neighboring Uganda, there have been 20 confirmed cases and two deaths.
The senators highlighted the rapid spread of the virus, stating that it "leaves no time for delay in providing all possible interventions to save lives." They also noted that "Investment now in voluntary family planning is fiscally rational in addition to being morally urgent," pointing out that the U.S. response cost was approaching $1 billion.
The latest Ebola outbreak in the DRC was first identified when a health worker in the Ituri Province developed symptoms in late April. The World Health Organization (WHO) was alerted on May 5 after four health workers died within four days, and subsequent investigations confirmed the illness was caused by a form of Ebola known as Bundibugyo virus. The WHO believes transmission may have begun as early as March.