Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen have urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to release family-planning aid for women and infants affected by an Ebola outbreak in East Africa. Their intervention highlights concerns that delayed humanitarian funding could worsen health risks for vulnerable communities during an outbreak.

In a letter sent on Thursday, the senators called for the use of $608 million in congressionally approved international family-planning funds, alongside distribution of $1.7 million in already purchased supplies. The supplies were described as including condoms, hormonal contraception, post-rape care medicines and treatments for haemorrhage.