A high-level virtual meeting, involving African Heads of State, government officials, and numerous international partners, recently convened to address the rapidly worsening Ebola Bundibugyo Virus Disease (BVD) outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Chaired by Burundi's President H.E. Evariste Ndayishimiye, who also leads the African Union, the gathering on June 16, 2026, underscored the urgent need for a unified global response to this significant health emergency. The meeting brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including the African Union Commission, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations agencies, various financial institutions, private sector representatives, and philanthropic organizations. Notably, China's high-level participation highlighted the global consensus on the importance of collective action and international solidarity in confronting such severe health crises. ## Understanding the Threat: Ebola Bundibugyo Virus Disease Ebola Bundibugyo is one of several strains of the Ebola virus, a severe and often fatal illness in humans. Named after the Bundibugyo district in Uganda where it was first identified in 2007, this strain, like others, causes hemorrhagic fever. Symptoms typically appear suddenly and can include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. The virus spreads through direct contact with blood, body fluids (like urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, and semen) of infected people, or objects contaminated with these fluids. It can also spread through contact with infected animals, such as fruit bats or primates. Without rapid medical intervention, Ebola Bundibugyo can lead to severe organ damage and a high fatality rate, making swift detection and containment critical. ## The Current Outbreak's Grim Reality The leaders expressed grave concern over the quickly deteriorating situation on the ground. As of June 15, 2026, the outbreak had caused 827 confirmed cases and 194 confirmed deaths across the two affected nations. The Democratic Republic of Congo bore the brunt, reporting 808 cases and 192 deaths across its Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces. Uganda had 19 confirmed cases and 2 deaths. While Ituri remains the primary hotspot, North Kivu has emerged as a major area of concern, experiencing a daily rise in new cases and recording an alarming 64% case fatality rate, indicating the virus's aggressive nature in this region. ## Key Challenges Fueling the Crisis The meeting highlighted several critical obstacles that have pushed the outbreak to a dangerous operational tipping point. These include persistent community transmission, which makes tracking the virus incredibly difficult, and suboptimal contact tracing efforts, where infected individuals' contacts are not fully identified and monitored. The rapid geographical spread of the virus, often exacerbated by high population mobility, particularly linked to mining activities, further complicates containment. Adding to these challenges are persistent insecurity and large-scale population displacements in affected areas, which disrupt public health interventions and make it difficult for aid workers to reach those in need. Deep-seated community mistrust towards health authorities and reluctance to engage in post-mortem testing in some regions also hinder effective response. Gaps in infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in healthcare settings, coupled with insufficient capacity for safe and dignified burials, adequate isolation, and treatment, allow the virus to continue its spread. A major hurdle is the continued absence of a licensed, BDBV-specific vaccine or therapeutic treatment, leaving healthcare providers with limited tools to combat the disease. ## Urgent Actions for Immediate Containment To address these pressing issues, the meeting called for the immediate establishment of humanitarian access and response corridors, including 'corridors of peace' where necessary. These pathways would enable national authorities, Africa CDC, WHO, UN OCHA, and partners to safely access high-risk and affected areas, including North Kivu and South Kivu. This access is vital for assessing transmission patterns and needs, delivering essential supplies, investigating new alerts, supporting patient treatment, and maintaining critical health services for the general population. Furthermore, an immediate seven-day operational surge was requested. This intensified effort aims to bolster various response activities, including thorough case investigation, improved daily data management, diligent 21-day contact tracing, enhanced treatment and isolation capabilities, strengthened IPC, triage, and provision of personal protective equipment (PPE). It also includes ensuring safe and dignified burials, efficient laboratory clearance processes, rapid point-of-care diagnostics, and impactful risk communication and community engagement led by trusted local leaders. ## A United Front: Leadership and Resources The commitment and leadership demonstrated by the governments of the DRC and Uganda, alongside their initial financial contributions (USD 50 million from DRC and USD 5 million from Uganda), were highly commended. The meeting paid tribute to the relentless efforts of frontline health workers, community volunteers, and local responders who are risking their lives daily. The rapid activation of support from Africa CDC, WHO, and other partners, including the deployment of Incident Management Support Teams, cross-border coordination, laboratory and field personnel, and logistics support, was also welcomed. The meeting endorsed a comprehensive June-December 2026 joint response and preparedness plan, estimated to require USD 518 million. There was a strong call for urgent, flexible, and front-loaded financing. Pledges totaling USD 910 million, including USD 80 million from African Member States towards a USD 100 million target, were welcomed. However, the leaders urged swift conversion of these pledges into readily available funds and priority in-kind support, such as vehicles, ambulances, laboratories, data managers, community workers, treatment and isolation facilities, PPE, IPC/WASH materials, safe burial teams, logistics, and security-sensitive access. ## Beyond Immediate Response: Long-Term Vision for Health Security ### Sustainable Preparedness and Investment Recognizing that Africa frequently faces epidemic outbreaks, the meeting emphasized a critical shift from reactive emergency appeals to proactive, predictable investment in preparedness. It endorsed an ambitious target of USD 100 million per year in voluntary financing from African Member States and the African private sector, supplemented by external partners. This consistent funding aims to strengthen epidemic preparedness, maintain readiness between outbreaks, and accelerate crucial investments in local manufacturing of medical countermeasures, including vaccines, medicines, diagnostics, and other essential health commodities. ### No Place for Travel Bans The leaders firmly reaffirmed that blanket travel or trade bans are not supported by public health evidence and can be counterproductive. Such measures often undermine response efforts by discouraging reporting, diverting movement to informal crossings, and delaying the movement of vital responders, samples, supplies, and humanitarian aid. Instead, all countries were requested to follow Africa CDC guidance on entry and exit screening, share timely data for centralized situational awareness, and adopt evidence-based, risk-based measures, including coordinated points-of-entry surveillance and safe passage for essential travel, trade, and response operations. ### Accelerating Innovation and Local Manufacturing A stark reminder from the meeting was the fact that 19 years after its initial identification, no licensed BDBV-specific vaccine or therapeutic exists. This highlights a critical gap in global health equity and research. The meeting called for accelerated, ethical, and structured access to candidate vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, along with adaptive clinical trials. Crucially, it pushed for firm post-trial access commitments, benefit-sharing mechanisms, technology transfer, and the establishment of African manufacturing pathways. Countries were also encouraged to utilize the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism for joint procurement of health commodities and to sign and ratify the Treaty for the African Medicines Agency, envisioning it as a cornerstone of African health security and sovereignty. In conclusion, the meeting endorsed the continued leadership of Africa CDC, in close collaboration with WHO and all partners. A weekly commitment tracker was established to monitor pledges, disbursements, and remaining gaps against the six-month plan. The leaders resolved to maintain high-level political engagement until the outbreak is fully contained and regional health security risks are mitigated. The call to action was clear: act with urgency, unity, solidarity, and accountability to contain Ebola at its source, keep borders open for science and solidarity, protect frontline workers and communities, and ensure this emergency strengthens Africa's preparedness, manufacturing capacity, and overall health security.