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The international development secretary also called on other G7 countries to make a similar commitment to tackle what he termed "very fragile situation". Mr. Stewart – who was one of Boris Johnson's advocates at the Conservative party leadership until his elimination from the contest last month – spoke at a high-level event organized by the UN and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, director of the WHO, warned that the identification of a case in the city of Goma, near the border with Rwanda, was likely to radically change the situation.
The Ebola outbreak is concentrated in the province of North Kivu and there are a total of 2,477 cases, of which 2,383 are confirmed and 94 are probable. Of these, 1,655 deaths, 1,561 confirmed, 94 probable.
Mr. Stewart said at the event: "The British government has so far invested about $ 45 million [£37.7m – also covers funding to the outbreak in Equateur province immediately preceding this one]and I have just allowed the British government up to £ 50m.
Describing the situation as "a knife," Mr. Stewart added, "It makes sense to spend money now, so we do not have to spend much later.
"What I noticed while going around the world trying to get people into this room is that international donors give a lot of very intellectual and sophisticated reasons for their refusal to give money.
"So, there are a number of ambbadadors in this room who can give me a fantastic presentation on the complexity of operations in eastern DRC.
"People will talk about the importance of the transition from a humanitarian phase to a development phase, they will talk about the militarization of the conflict, they will indicate the root causes, they will talk about politics, they will are going to talk about some of the anxieties around the preparation.
"None of this is an excuse for not investing more money in the answer, yes, it's complex, yes, it's very difficult, yes, the root causes are hard to deal with, but we're in a very, very fragile situation.
"Frankly speaking, we would have about half of the WHO staff that we should have to prepare ourselves in countries like Burundi and South Sudan, because the money simply does not reach us .
"So I raised this issue at the G7 meeting in Paris with Development Ministers.
"We would be extremely grateful to our dear friends from other G7 countries to mobilize.
"The United States has done a lot, it's to confirm that Britain will do a lot more."
Dr. Gebreyesus said that WHO was concerned about two separate but equally disturbing developments.
The first was a case of Ebola in Goma at a pastor who had traveled from Butembo, the second was the killing of two people who had responded to the Ebola virus who had been killed at their home in Beni, the last of a series attacks on public health officials in connection with the badbadination of Dr. Richard Mouzoko, epidemiologist at WHO.
Dr. Gebreyesus said, "These two events summarize the challenges we continue to face every day in the DRC, just as we begin to control the virus in one area, it appears in another.
"And violence and insecurity continue to undermine the response, and we are facing one of the most dangerous viruses in the world in one of the most dangerous regions in the world.
"Every attack delays us – every attack makes it more difficult to search for contact, vaccinate and burial safely … Each attack gives Ebola the opportunity to spread." a free spin during each attack.
"The risk of spread in the DRC and in the region remains very high."
Dr. Gebreyesus warned that the case of Goma "could potentially change the situation in this epidemic".
He added: "Goma is a city of two million people located near the border with Rwanda and a gateway to the region and the world.
"We are confident in the measures we have put in place and hope that we will not see any further transmission of the Ebola virus in Goma. Nevertheless, we can not be too cautious. "
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