Ebola response leader compares 2014 outbreak to current DRC situation
10 reported3 unconfirmed
Susan Reichle, who served as counselor to USAID during the 2014 Ebola response, discussed differences between that outbreak and the current one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda in an interview with STAT. Reichle noted that in 2014 the world learned of the outbreak when there were 49 confirmed cases, and it took two-and-a-half months to reach 300 cases, while the current outbreak reached 300 confirmed cases within two weeks. She said the U.S. lost 10 days of response time because the WHO found out about a suspected case on May 5, but the U.S. did not learn until May 15. Reichle stated that USAID had nearly 200 people at the DRC mission and thousands of partners before the agency was dismantled, and that the health office alone had 40 people working across the country. She said the State Department committed $162 million in aid, but that local NGO partners cannot fully activate because contracts were canceled and there is no assurance funds will arrive on time. Reichle co-founded the Aid Transition Alliance in 2025 to support former USAID professionals after retiring from foreign service in 2019.
What’s reported
In 2014, the world learned about the Ebola outbreak when there were 49 confirmed cases; it took two-and-a-half months to reach 300 cases.
In the current outbreak, 300 confirmed cases were reached within two weeks.
The WHO found out about a suspected case on May 5; the U.S. did not learn until May 15, losing 10 days of response time.
USAID had nearly 200 people at the DRC mission and thousands of partners before being dismantled.
The USAID health office in DRC had 40 people working across the country.
The State Department committed $162 million in aid, but local NGO partners cannot fully activate due to canceled contracts and funding uncertainty.
Over 120 armed militias operate in the Ituri province of the DRC.
USAID had warehouses stocked with critical commodities, including one in Kenya managed by the WHO; the supply contract for PPE was broken.
In 2014, USAID set up a medical unit on the ground for health workers treating Ebola patients.
The U.S. is no longer part of the WHO, and USAID no longer exists.
Open questions
Whether the warehouse in Kenya is still stocked with PPE.
How far the current outbreak has spread since the first case.
Whether the U.S. is doing the level of planning needed for a treatment center close to the outbreak zone.
Key figures
Susan Reichle: former counselor to USAID during the 2014 Ebola response; retired from foreign service in 2019; co-founded Aid Transition Alliance in 2025.
Marco Rubio: Secretary of State.
Barack Obama: President of the United States during the 2014 Ebola response.
Nicholas Enrich: author of “Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID.”
Sources: statnews.com
