WHO Declares Ebola Outbreak In Democratic Republic Of The Congo And Uganda A Public Health Emergency

The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda “a public health emergency of international concern,” as the world also faced a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship trip to South America.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that an Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a “public health emergency of international concern”, setting off alarm bells around the world”

Al Jazeera

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned in May 2025 that global health would be at serious risk without enough donor support and that the agency was facing “the greatest disruption to global health financing in memory”.

Al Jazeera

The Al Jazeera report said the WHO’s funding crisis followed the United States withdrawing from the organisation in January, after Donald Trump alleged the WHO had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.

Al Jazeera added that the programme budget for the agency’s 2026-27 projects has been set at more than $6.2bn, a 9 percent decrease from the previous year, and that WHO scaled back spending by cutting some critical programmes.

The same report said that weakening WHO through funding cuts risks delaying outbreak detection, slowing response times, and reducing the world’s ability to contain emerging threats before they spread globally.

The United States announced it was bolstering precautions to prevent Ebola’s spread by screening air travelers from outbreak-hit areas and temporarily suspending visa services from the region, as WHO declared the DRC outbreak an international health emergency.

The CDC said in a statement, “At this time, CDC assesses the immediate risk to the general US public as low, but we will continue to evaluate the evolving situation and may adjust public health measures as additional information becomes available,” and it said it was implementing entry restrictions on non-US passport holders who had traveled to Uganda, DRC or South Sudan within the past 21 days.

Gulf News

Le Temps reported that the CDC announced health screenings for air travelers from affected African countries and temporarily restricted visa issuance for foreigners who had traveled to those areas, with an American citizen infected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Le Temps quoted the CDC’s account that the individual “began showing symptoms over the weekend and tested positive late Sunday,” and said arrangements were being made to transfer him to Germany for treatment.

The Intercept described the WHO chief as “deeply concerned about the scale and speed” of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, with deaths “to at least 130” and more than 500 suspected cases.

Al Jazeera said the WHO helps facilitate communication and response efforts among countries under the International Health Regulations (IHR), deploys experts, supports laboratory testing and organises emergency responses in case of an outbreak.

“World Health Organization declares global health emergency On Saturday, the World Health Organization declared the current epidemic of Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda “a public health emergency of international concern,” but said it does not meet the criteria for a pandemic”

GZERO Media

Al Jazeera quoted Kaja Abbas warning that “Funding cuts to the WHO have directly weakened disease surveillance efforts, which in turn affect the readiness and preparedness to deliver an effective response to epidemics and pandemics,” linking the financing gap to reduced preparedness.

The report said passengers and crew members from more than 20 countries on the affected cruise ship, MV Hondius, required coordinated monitoring, contact tracing, medical evacuation, and public health guidance across borders.

GZERO Media said the WHO declared the epidemic “a public health emergency of international concern,” while also stating it does not meet the criteria for a pandemic, and it added that there is no targeted vaccine nor treatment for the current outbreak.

In parallel, the Russian Federal Consumer Protection and Public Welfare Oversight Agency announced it would send specialists to Uganda to combat Ebola, and it said the team would travel to Kampala to conduct an epidemiological investigation at the Ugandan side’s request.