Democratic Republic of Congo Evd outbreak with patients outside the Bunia Hospital
Since early May, the World Health Organization and the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been working to contain the spread of a rare and virulent strain of Ebola virus disease.
Originally published in NewsGhana.
Geostrategic Analysis
Beginning in early May, healthcare workers and medical scientists noticed a new outbreak of a suspected rare strain of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Ebola was first detected a half century ago in the-then Zaire, now the DRC, as a potentially deadly disease with an extremely high mortality rate.
Since 1976, several waves of EVD have erupted in Central, East and West Africa. Between late 2013 and early 2015, over 11,000 people died in the West African states of Guinea-Conakry, Liberia and Sierra Leone in what has been so far the worst outbreak of the disease.
By the end of May, it has been reported that over 200 deaths have occurred in the latest outbreak of EVD, which is one of the most dangerous of a number of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (VHF). Other similar VHFs include Marburg and Lassa Fevers.
Due to the continuing conflicts in the Eastern DRC, the capacity of the healthcare sector in the region is hampered by the fighting between the government’s military forces and rebel organizations. Although the United States President Donald Trump through his Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that they had ended the war between the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel grouping and the Congolese defense forces, fighting is continuing.
This purported peace agreement brokered by the State Department was ostensibly based upon access by U.S.-based firms to strategic minerals so abundant in the DRC. Yet, transnational corporations including those based in the U.S. have long exploited the natural resources and labor of the Congolese people.
Despite the wealth of the DRC in regard to valuable minerals and metals, the overwhelming majority of the people remain impoverished. As a former Belgian colony, since its independence in 1960, the system of neo-colonialism has encapsulated the DRC. It is impossible to separate the level of socioeconomic underdevelopment from the recurrent outbreaks of infectious diseases and the inability to effectively respond through the existing emergency services.
Even though the United Nations has peacekeeping forces in the Eastern DRC totaling more than 13,000 soldiers and police, the fighting and instability have continued. The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Mission to Congo (MONUSCO) until December 2026, although the ability to halt the war and restore some form of normalcy remains elusive.
In specific regard to the latest EVD outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) says of the current situation:
“On 5 May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) was alerted of a high-mortality outbreak of unknown illness in Mongbwalu Health Zone, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including deaths among health workers. On 14 May 2026, the Institut national de recherche biomédicale (INRB) Kinshasa analyzed 13 blood samples from Rwampara Health Zone, Ituri Province. Laboratory analysis confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) in eight of these samples on 15 May, a species of Ebola. The case fatality rates in the past two BVD outbreaks have ranged from 30% to 50%. Unlike Ebola virus disease, there is no licensed vaccine or specific therapeutics against Bundibugyo virus, though early supportive care is lifesaving.”
The announcements by the WHO has caused alarm internationally particularly within the African continent. Memories of previous outbreaks, particularly in the 2013-2015 period, prompted imposition of policy measures which would limit and soon arrest the spread.
Due to the threat which has emerged in Ituri province on the border with neighboring Uganda, the border with the DRC has been closed by government officials based in Kampala. A smaller number of cases of the Bundibugyo strain have been reported in Uganda as well.
The same above-quoted statement from the WHO goes on to say:
“On 17 May 2026, WHO Director-General, after having consulted the States Parties where the event is known to be currently occurring, determined that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in DRC and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), as defined in the provisions of IHR. Response measures include deployment of rapid response teams, delivery of medical supplies, strengthened surveillance, laboratory confirmation, infection prevention and control assessments, the set-up of safe treatment centers, and community engagement. WHO is supporting the coordination of the response, case management, and cross-border preparedness. WHO advice has been issued to countries.”
The African Response to the Outbreak
On May 23, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC) held a press conference to put forward a continental response to the public health crisis engendered by the Bundibugyo outbreak. The ACDC is an affiliate of the 55 member-states African Union (AU) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2022, the ACDC played an important role in cooperation with the WHO in coordinating responses across the continent. These efforts were important in circulating information about the level of infections while advocating for an equitable distribution of vaccines.
In the present outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of EVD, the world economic crisis is worsening as a result of the U.S.-Israel unprovoked war against Iran. The escalating costs for fuel, fertilizer and foods have compounded the already undeveloped conditions prevailing in various regions of the African continent.
According to a statement issued by the ACDC on its website, notes:
“Building on the extensive Ebola response experience of both the DRC and Uganda, Africa CDC is scaling up technical and operational support across the region, including the deployment of additional expertise and strengthened coordination mechanisms. Priority measures include enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing and sequencing, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, and cross-border collaboration to rapidly contain transmission and protect communities. Africa CDC is continuing to work closely with national health authorities, the World Health Organization and other partners to support a coordinated response aimed at interrupting transmission, strengthening preparedness in neighboring countries and safeguarding regional health security. The response also reflects growing efforts to strengthen Africa’s collective capacity to detect, prepare for and respond to public health emergencies through stronger regional coordination, resilient health systems and faster deployment of expertise and resources where they are most needed.”
U.S. Has Largely Ignored the Recent Outbreak
These initiatives by the ACDC working alongside the WHO will undoubtedly be impacted by the policies of the current U.S. administration. One of the first executive orders of the Trump White House was to withdraw Washington’s membership in the WHO.
This is the second time that Trump has dropped out of an international agency whose purpose is to engage in coordination efforts involving global health. The policy towards the WHO as well as United Nations Climate Agreements are a reflection of the priorities and ideological orientation of the far-right in the U.S.
In the U.S., Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy has been a longtime anti-vaccination advocate and holds views which are at variance with the scientific community in the U.S. and internationally.
Although the U.S. was the most devastatingly impacted country during the COVID-19 pandemic leaving in excess of a million people dead with millions more infected, the MAGA grouping has remained in denial over this and other potential global health crises. This view easily explains the lack of response by Washington to the current EVD outbreak.
For example, many of the leading universities in the U.S. have had their research grants suspended by the White House pending their ideological vetting by the White House. The Trump administration has accused universities of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) which they have issued executive orders terminating programs designed to bring more people of color and women into academia.
Moreover, during 2024 when students, staff and faculty members demanded the full disclosure and divestment of financial holdings by the higher educational institutions from corporations and institutions with ties to the State of Israel. These demonstrations held on the campuses across the U.S. were in response to the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
During the final year of the administration of former President Joe Biden in 2024, a federally coordinated campaign smashed many of the encampments on the campuses erected in solidarity with Palestine. Under the Trump regime this anti-Palestine atmosphere has continued and expanded where the administration has urged a complete ban on not only academic research and instruction related to West Asian Studies it is also attacking and eliminating funding for African, African American, Asian, Latin American and Gender Studies programs.
Consequently, the U.S. has appeared quite unconcerned about the recent EVD outbreak in Central and East Africa. These developments should compel the WHO and the ACDC to encourage programs based on self-reliance for Africa and other regions of the Global South.
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