Travel bans, emergency funding and a continent-wide health alert have become central to efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, as African and U.S. health authorities warned of the risk of wider regional spread.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention officially declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security, or PHECS, following recommendations from its Emergency Consultative Group chaired by Salim Abdool Karim.
The declaration, made under Article 3 of the Africa CDC Statute, allows the agency to coordinate continental emergency measures and support affected countries. The decision followed consultations with Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and Cyril Ramaphosa, who also serves as the African Union champion for pandemic preparedness and response.
Africa CDC said nearly 395 suspected cases and 106 deaths linked to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola had been reported in the DRC, mainly in the Mongwalu, Rwampara and Bunia health zones. Uganda had reported two confirmed cases and one death in Kampala as of May 2026.
The agency warned that intense cross-border movement, mining activities, insecurity, weak infection prevention systems and community deaths outside formal health facilities were increasing the risk of transmission to neighboring countries, including Rwanda and South Sudan.
“Today, we declare this PHECS to mobilize our institutions, our collective will, and our resources to act swiftly and decisively,” said Jean Kaseya. “The confirmation of the Bundibugyo ebolavirus in interconnected countries reminds us once again that Africa’s health security is indivisible.”
Kaseya said the declaration would help speed up regional coordination, strengthen surveillance and laboratory systems, deploy emergency responders and expand preparedness efforts in neighboring countries at heightened risk. Africa CDC has already deployed multidisciplinary teams and committed an initial $2 million for the response.
The outbreak has also triggered action in Washington. The U.S. Department of State said it established an interagency coordination cell and incident management system within 24 hours of learning of confirmed Ebola cases on May 15, 2026. U.S. embassies in the DRC, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan have set up monitoring groups to track developments and communicate with American citizens in the region.
The department said it is holding daily leadership-level meetings to coordinate the response.
On May 18, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Title 42 order barring entry into the United States for foreign nationals who had visited the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan within the previous 21 days. The State Department said it is working with the Department of Homeland Security to implement the restrictions and any future quarantine guidance worldwide.
U.S. officials are also coordinating with the CDC and the military on the possible repatriation of affected Americans, depending on exposure risks and medical needs.
Within 48 hours of activating its response plan, the State Department said it had mobilized an initial $13 million in foreign assistance to support surveillance, laboratory testing, risk communication, safe burials, border screening and clinical care. Officials said additional bilateral funding for outbreak response and humanitarian aid would be announced as authorities gain more information about the scale of the outbreak.
The funding builds on previous U.S. investments in disease surveillance and outbreak detection through bilateral health agreements signed with Uganda and the DRC under the America First Global Health Strategy.
The United States also said it would use investments in United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs pooled funds to accelerate humanitarian assistance and coordination with the U.N. system. A previously announced $1.8 billion contribution to OCHA pooled funds includes $250 million earmarked for Uganda and the DRC.
Africa CDC and the World Health Organization are jointly coordinating the response through an Incident Management Support Team based on the “4 Ones” principle — one team, one plan, one budget and one monitoring framework — an approach previously used during mpox and cholera outbreaks.
Health officials also expressed concern about the limited availability of approved vaccines and treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Africa CDC said it is working with partners to assess available medical countermeasures and accelerate operational research to guide response strategies.
“The interconnected nature of transmission between DRC and Uganda, combined with the challenges posed by insecurity and cross-border movement, requires urgent coordinated continental action,” Karim said.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal disease spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people or contaminated materials. Health authorities said early detection, isolation of cases, contact tracing, infection prevention and safe burials remain critical to stopping transmission.
With the help from foreign Aids we shall control Ebola virus out from DRC and Uganda