Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have unveiled a US$518 million continental preparedness and response plan to strengthen Africa’s fight against the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease (BVD) outbreak, as countries intensify efforts to prevent the virus from spreading across borders.
The six-month strategy, covering June to November 2026, seeks to mobilise governments, international partners and communities under a unified “One Response” framework to improve preparedness, rapidly detect new infections, and strengthen outbreak response across the continent.
The joint initiative complements national Ebola response plans already being implemented by the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, the countries currently at the centre of the outbreak.
Unified continental response
The preparedness plan outlines coordinated interventions across critical areas of outbreak management, including emergency coordination, disease surveillance, laboratory diagnosis, infection prevention and control, clinical case management, community engagement, logistics, operational research, and the continuity of essential health services.
The strategy also prioritises strengthening public health preparedness in 10 high-risk African countries, where enhanced surveillance, rapid response systems and emergency readiness measures are already being expanded.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that controlling Ebola requires more than medical interventions, highlighting the importance of coordinated leadership, sustained financing and public trust.
“The only way to beat this outbreak is through close partnership, working together under the leadership of the affected countries in one coordinated effort, guided by a simple principle: one plan, one budget, one team,” Dr. Tedros said.
He added that communities remain central to the response because effective contact tracing, timely healthcare seeking and infection prevention depend heavily on public participation and trust.
Africa calls for faster collective action
Africa CDC Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya said the speed at which Ebola spreads demands an equally rapid and coordinated continental response.
“Ebola moves fast. Africa must move faster,” Dr. Kaseya said.
He noted that the joint strategy provides African countries with a common operational framework to protect affected communities, strengthen preparedness in neighbouring countries and ensure that financial resources are rapidly translated into life-saving interventions.
Protecting vulnerable populations
The response plan places particular emphasis on protecting vulnerable populations, reinforcing cross-border collaboration and supporting countries to identify and contain new cases before wider community transmission occurs.
Health authorities also acknowledge a significant scientific challenge: there are currently no licensed vaccines or therapeutics specifically approved for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus.
Consequently, the plan seeks not only to improve outbreak control but also to strengthen health systems so they remain resilient while managing simultaneous public health emergencies.
Maintaining momentum against other disease outbreaks
Africa CDC and WHO cautioned that the Ebola response should not come at the expense of other ongoing health emergencies affecting the continent.
The preparedness framework therefore includes measures to sustain responses to mpox, cholera and measles, helping countries avoid disruptions to essential health services while building stronger and more resilient health systems.
Implementation of preparedness activities is already underway in affected countries and neighbouring states considered at elevated risk.
Meanwhile, authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with technical and operational support from Africa CDC, WHO and multiple international partners, continue to intensify outbreak control measures aimed at interrupting transmission.
Strengthening border surveillance
Africa CDC and WHO have called on African Union Member States to reinforce health screening at points of entry, improve disease surveillance along international borders and strengthen collaboration between neighbouring countries to ensure rapid detection and coordinated response to suspected cases.
The agencies believe the continent-wide plan will enable Africa to pool expertise, financial resources and technical capacity to contain the current outbreak while reducing the risk of future cross-border spread.
Building long-term epidemic preparedness
Beyond addressing the immediate outbreak, the preparedness strategy draws on lessons learned from previous Ebola epidemics and recent public health emergencies to strengthen Africa’s long-term epidemic preparedness.
Health experts say investments in laboratory systems, emergency operations centres, surveillance networks, community engagement and rapid response capacity made through the initiative could improve the continent’s ability to prevent, detect and respond to future outbreaks of Ebola and other emerging infectious diseases.
Successful implementation of the plan, however, will depend on sustained political commitment, adequate financing and continued collaboration among governments, frontline health workers, researchers, communities and development partners.
Why this matters
The Bundibugyo strain is one of the less common species of the Ebola virus and currently has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, making early detection, isolation, supportive clinical care and robust public health measures the primary tools for controlling transmission. The joint Africa CDC-WHO strategy represents one of the continent’s most coordinated efforts to strengthen preparedness while supporting affected countries to contain the outbreak before it escalates into a wider regional public health emergency.
