JOHANNESBURG, May 25 (Xinhua) -- South Africa on Monday pledged 5 million U.S. dollars to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to support efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement during a high-level meeting of African health ministers on the outbreak response.

He said that more than 200 people have died so far, adding that the Africa CDC has described the current outbreak as the second-largest since the 2014 West Africa epidemic.

Ramaphosa, who serves as the African Union Champion on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, highlighted efforts with partners, including the World Health Organization, the Vaccine Alliance Working Groups, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, on promoting vaccine and therapeutic candidates towards clinical trials.

"We strongly support these efforts, as Africa cannot continue to face deadly epidemics without equitable access to diagnostics, vaccines, and treatments," he added.

He called on all relevant partners and manufacturers to accelerate research and development, strengthen genomic surveillance, expand laboratory systems, and fast-track the equitable delivery of safe and effective vaccines and therapeutics. ■