WHO and Africa CDC launch $518m Ebola response plan as Bundibugyo strain spreads in DR Congo and Uganda

The response plan

The World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention presented a joint $518 million (€446 million) Ebola response plan on Friday, set to run from June to November. The plan focuses on emergency coordination, surveillance, laboratory testing, infection prevention and control, clinical care, community engagement, research, logistics and the continuity of essential health services.

The objective is straightforward: we need to stop the outbreak where it is, support countries that are responding today, and ensure that neighbouring countries are ready to detect and act quickly if cases appear.

The WHO director-general stressed that the plan is a shared effort under the leadership of the affected countries, guided by a simple principle: one plan, one budget, one team. He noted the response draws on experience from previous outbreaks and recent health emergencies.

The outbreak's toll

The outbreak was declared on 15 May in the northeastern DR Congo province of Ituri, which accounts for 90% of confirmed cases and 76% of deaths according to the Africa CDC. It has since spread to the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu. Uganda has confirmed 19 cases, including two deaths, with three new cases and one death reported on Friday. The Congolese health minister, Samuel Roger Kamba, reported 381 confirmed cases and 63 deaths in DR Congo late Thursday. The WHO said 34 health workers have been infected, seven have died and six have recovered.

The Bundibugyo strain

The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment exists. The strain's case fatality rate ranges between 30% and 50%. The current outbreak is larger than the two previously recorded Bundibugyo outbreaks in 2007 and 2012. Health authorities suspect the virus had been circulating undetected for some time before the official declaration, with hundreds of cases possibly already present by mid-May.

We're not starting from zero; this plan draws from previous outbreaks and recent health emergencies.

US warnings and funding

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released three documents in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, warning that the outbreak's impact could be similar to or worse than the West Africa outbreak of 2014–2016. The US has provided nearly $38 million in additional funding for the Ebola response, bringing its total contribution to over $200 million. The CDC modelling scenarios paint a concerning picture, and the reports aim to mobilise the international community for a rapid and comprehensive response in cooperation with DR Congo and Uganda.

Regional tensions

Plans to establish a US Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base near Nanyuki, Kenya, have sparked protests. Hundreds demonstrated on Monday and Tuesday, and at least two people were killed and one injured when the protest turned violent on Monday. The facility is intended to quarantine US citizens exposed to the virus but not showing symptoms, rather than allowing them to return home. Kenya's President William Ruto has defended the base as crucial. The WHO considers the risk high in sub-Saharan Africa and low globally.

What comes next

Three vaccines are being researched and are set to be fast-tracked for trials. The WHO plan will be implemented in cooperation with the Africa CDC, with Tedros emphasising that containing Ebola requires political commitment, sustained financing and trust in community engagement. Public resistance to health protocols remains a challenge in DR Congo, which is battling its 17th Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified there in 1976.