Delays in mobilising resources and scaling up the response to the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak could lead to wider regional transmission and greater loss of life, African leaders and global health partners warned on Tuesday.
The warning comes amid indications that the outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda could become the second-largest Ebola outbreak after the 2014 West Africa epidemic that impacted several countries.
During a high-level virtual ministerial briefing convened by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the African Union, leaders backed a continental preparedness and response plan requiring at least US$319 million between June and November 2026 to strengthen outbreak control in affected countries and preparedness in at least 11 high-risk African Union member states.
It was also revealed that nearly US$500 million had been committed or pledged by governments, multilateral agencies and humanitarian partners. Africa CDC Director General Dr Jean Kaseya warmly welcomed the strong show of support, describing it as an important demonstration of global solidarity and commitment to addressing this critical challenge.
He said the next step under the joint Incident Management Support Team (IMST) would be to work with partners to validate the pledges, clarify the balance between new financing, repurposed resources, in-kind contributions and country-level allocations, and ensure that resources are directed toward the priority actions identified in the joint response plan.
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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said African countries had pledged some the funding needed, showing that the continent was taking ownership of the response. “African countries themselves have already committed initial domestic contributions representing approximately 10% of the required financing. Africa is no longer waiting passively for others to act,” said President Ramaphosa, who is also the African Union Champion for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response
He announced that South Africa had doubled its earlier pledge to US$5 million for Africa CDC’s continental Ebola response. The Gates Foundation also committed US$5 million to Africa CDC and US$10 million to the World Health Organization.
African Union Commission Chairperson H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said the outbreak underscored the need for stronger investments in surveillance systems, emergency operations centres, genomics, community health workers and local manufacturing capacity. “African problems require African leadership and African responsibility,” he said.
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WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that health authorities were “playing catch-up with a very fast-moving epidemic” following delayed detection in eastern DRC. WHO has already released US$3.9 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support operations on the ground. “We’re facing an extremely serious and difficult outbreak. It will get worse before it gets better. But we know this virus, and we know how to stop it,” said Dr Tedros.
Insecurity, displacement and community resistance were hampering surveillance, contact tracing and access to vulnerable communities, including through reported attacks on an Ebola treatment facility in eastern DRC. The lack of approved vaccines and therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain, combined with limited laboratory capacity to rapidly confirm suspected cases, was further complicating containment efforts.
Gavi CEO Dr Sania Nishtar said efforts were underway to accelerate vaccine research and preparedness for the Bundibugyo strain, while stressing the importance of equitable access to vaccines and therapeutics once available.
The DRC’s Minister of Health, Dr Roger Kamba, called for stronger regional coordination and sustained support for frontline responders, warning that the outbreak was unfolding in an extremely difficult security environment, including in eastern DRC where insecurity and attacks on health infrastructure continue to complicate response operations.
Somalia, Nigeria, Egypt and Burundi also highlighted the importance of preparedness, stronger laboratory systems, cross-border coordination, surveillance and information sharing amid high regional mobility and the risk of wider spread.
