The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have called for an urgent scale-up of the community-led Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The call followed a joint high-level mission to Uganda and DRC on 4 and 5 August, with stronger early detection, contact follow up, access to care, support for frontline health workers and faster delivery of resources to affected communities.
The mission was led by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of Africa CDC H.E. Dr Jean Kaseya and WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Mohamed Janabi also assessed progress, identified critical operational gaps and brought the concerns of affected communities and frontline teams directly to national leadership, WHO news release said.
In Kampala, the delegation engaged with national authorities and response teams following Uganda’s declaration of the end of its outbreak on 28 July 2026 that recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths.
Ituri accounts for nearly 90% of confirmed cases in the DRC, with Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu health zones among the most affected.
As of 4 August 2026, the DRC had reported 3973 confirmed cases, 1801 deaths and 776 recoveries across 51 health zones in five provinces.
In the latest 24-hour reporting period, the country recorded 99 new confirmed cases and 52 deaths.
A total of 674 people were under care. Treatment-centre occupancy in North Kivu had reached 139%, placing severe pressure on available beds, health workers and response operations.
Africa CDC and WHO also called for immediate action to be adopted.
