Africa CDC and WHO chiefs to visit DRC to accelerate Ebola response
Director-Generals Jean Kaseya and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will visit Bunia as the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak spreads to a fourth province in the DRC.
Africa CDC and WHO chiefs to visit DRC to accelerate Ebola response
The leaders of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) will conduct a joint mission to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) next week. Director-General Jean Kaseya and Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus are scheduled to visit Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province and the epicentre of the current Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, on July 18 and 19, 2026.
The visit follows high-level discussions between the two chiefs in Geneva, Switzerland. According to Kaseya, who announced the trip Saturday via a statement on X, the meeting in Geneva centered on the Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak affecting both the DRC and Uganda and the urgent action required on the ground
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The mission in Bunia will involve meetings with national authorities, response partners, affected communities, and frontline health workers. Kaseya stated that the purpose of the joint travel is to mobilize necessary support, strengthen coordination, and accelerate the response to protect lives and stop the transmission of the virus.
The urgency of the mission coincides with the geographical expansion of the virus. Haut-Uele province in northeastern DRC has now been officially declared an epidemic zone, making it the fourth province in the country affected by the current outbreak. This declaration was made Friday by Governor Jean Bakomito Gambu.
The official declaration in Haut-Uele followed a confirmation on Thursday by the National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) of seven fatal cases of Bundibugyo Ebola located in the Wamba health zone.
Kaseya has called for greater international solidarity to combat the spread. In an interview with Xinhua, he identified several critical needs for the response effort, including:
- Increased supplies
- Expanded isolation and treatment capacity
- More rigorous contact tracing
- Faster diagnosis
The Africa CDC chief emphasized that speed is the primary factor in saving lives during an Ebola outbreak. He stated that the priority remains to find cases earlier, test faster, isolate safely, care for patients, protect health workers, and work closely with communities
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The cross-border nature of the outbreak, spreading across the DRC and into Uganda, has increased pressure on international health authorities. The upcoming visit on July 18 and 19 is expected to result in a coordinated action plan to contain the virus and prevent further provincial spread within the DRC.
