The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has activated an emergency continental response following the spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreaks across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
In a statement issued on May 15, 2026, Africa CDC warned of the growing risk of regional transmission, particularly due to the high population movement and intense cross-border activities in the affected areas, especially around Ituri province in eastern DRC.
According to the agency, the region’s insecurity and close connectivity with neighbouring countries, including Uganda and South Sudan, have heightened fears of further spread, prompting urgent coordinated action across the continent.
On the same day, both the DRC and Uganda officially declared Ebola outbreaks within their territories, triggering Africa CDC’s mandate to lead and coordinate a continental response whenever multiple African Union member states are affected by the same health emergency.
Africa CDC Director-General, Dr Jean Kaseya, commended the governments of the DRC and Uganda for their ongoing efforts to contain the outbreak while also expressing support for South Sudan’s preparedness measures due to its proximity to the affected region.
“To strengthen coordination and guide the response, the meeting recommended the immediate activation of the continental Incident Management Support Team (IMST), bringing together all key partners to support and coordinate preparedness and response efforts,” the statement read.
Following confirmation of the outbreaks, Africa CDC convened a high-level consultative meeting on May 16 involving more than 130 participants, including representatives of affected and at-risk countries, donor partners such as the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, as well as agencies under the United Nations system including the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, FAO, WFP, IOM, and OCHA.
The meeting also included humanitarian organisations, pharmaceutical companies, and other health stakeholders to coordinate surveillance, laboratory systems, case management, infection prevention, logistics, risk communication, and rapid response operations.
Amid rising concerns, Dr Kaseya disclosed that consultations had begun regarding the possible declaration of a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS) under Article 12 of the Africa CDC Statute.
He said discussions had already been held with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while the Chair of the Africa CDC Emergency Consultative Group, Prof Salim Abdool Karim, has been asked to urgently provide technical guidance on the evolving situation.
Africa CDC further revealed that political consultations were ongoing with Burundi President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who currently chairs the African Union, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the AU Champion on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.
In a move underscoring the seriousness of the outbreak, Dr Kaseya announced he would cut short his engagements at the World Health Assembly in Geneva and return to Africa to personally visit affected countries and support response efforts.
“Africa CDC remains fully committed to working with Member States and partners to protect lives, contain the outbreak, and strengthen Africa’s health security and preparedness architecture,” the agency stated.