WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak was growing faster than any previous Ebola outbreak at the same stage.
UNICEF also issued an appeal, saying it had secured only 25% of the funding needed for its Ebola response operations.
Since May 15, Uganda has recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, including 15 cases imported from the DRC.
Cameroon and Chad Declare Cholera Outbreaks in Lake Chad BasinCameroon and Chad both declared cholera outbreaks in June 2026 in border districts of the Lake Chad Basin.
Transmission has since spread to 18 villages across five health areas, with 120 cases and four deaths recorded as of June 29.
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This week’s African health brief covers the worsening Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda’s progress toward ending its own outbreak, and an acute diarrhea outbreak in eastern DRC. It also examines new cholera outbreaks in Cameroon and Chad, rising Lassa fever cases and deaths in Nigeria, and a coordinated West African response to Rift Valley fever.
Ebola remains the most serious development. The death toll in the DRC has neared 800, while Uganda has begun the mandatory 42-day observation period required before it can officially declare its outbreak over.
Bundibugyo Ebola: 2,273 Cases and 796 Deaths in Third-Largest Outbreak on Record
Two months after it was declared, the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the DRC has become the third-largest Ebola outbreak in history, with 2,273 confirmed cases and 796 deaths as of July 16, according to the WHO. More than 80% of new infections are occurring among people who were not on known contact lists, pointing to undetected chains of transmission.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak was growing faster than any previous Ebola outbreak at the same stage. MSF said the death toll rose more than fivefold in less than five weeks, from about 130 in mid-June to more than 700 by mid-July.
“More than 80% of new infections are being detected outside known contact lists,” Tedros said, adding that about two thirds of deaths were occurring in communities among people who had never received care at a health facility. An Ebola treatment center in Bunia was also attacked on July 15.
MSF, which is responding in four provinces, has treated more than 968 patients and is calling for a stronger response. “Every delay costs lives. We continue to chase the outbreak instead of getting ahead of it,” said Trish Newport, the organization’s emergency director.
Response Funding: WHO and Africa CDC Seek More Than $400 Million
The joint WHO and Africa CDC preparedness and response plan still faces a funding gap of more than $400 million, officials warned.
Treatment capacity has increased to more than 800 beds, while the laboratory network has expanded from one operational unit to 16. However, those gains remain insufficient given the outbreak’s continued spread. UNICEF also issued an appeal, saying it had secured only 25% of the funding needed for its Ebola response operations.
During a visit to Ituri, UNICEF Regional Director Gilles Fagninou said the outbreak could still be brought under control if the response was accelerated and better coordinated.
“We know how to stop this outbreak. The problem is not a lack of solutions, but a lack of funding to deploy them at the necessary scale,” he said.
The WHO director-general said supporting the response was as much a matter of global health security as solidarity. “This is not charity. It is an investment in international security.”
Uganda: Last Patient Recovers, Starting 42-Day Observation Period
The outlook is more favorable in Uganda. Authorities began the mandatory 42-day observation period on July 16 after the last confirmed patient recovered. If no new cases are detected during that period, the country can officially declare the outbreak over.
Since May 15, Uganda has recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, including 15 cases imported from the DRC. All 836 identified contacts completed their monitoring periods.
Ugandan Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi praised the work of response teams. “Ebola can be defeated if we follow public health guidance and put strong systems in place.”
However, the WHO warned that the risk had not disappeared. Any new case imported from the DRC during the observation period would restart the countdown. To maintain vigilance, Uganda’s Health Ministry launched a six-month surveillance plan focused particularly on major border crossings.
Five West African Countries Coordinate Rift Valley Fever Response
In West Africa, the FAO organized a five-day regional workshop in Dakar this week on controlling Rift Valley fever. It brought together experts from Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, Mali and Guinea, as well as representatives of regional organizations working to control transboundary animal diseases.
The workshop is training participants to use DST-FVR, a decision-support tool designed to strengthen the subregion’s ability to anticipate and respond to future outbreaks. “No institution and no country can act alone,” the workshop coordinator said during the opening ceremony.
Rift Valley fever is a zoonotic disease transmitted by mosquitoes or through direct contact with infected animals. In 2025, an outbreak in Senegal and Mauritania resulted in more than 600 confirmed cases and about 40 deaths.
DRC: Acute Diarrhea Outbreak in Shabunda
Another health emergency has emerged in the Mulungu health zone in Shabunda territory, South Kivu. Between June 23 and July 7, authorities recorded 52 cases of acute diarrhea and 11 deaths, producing a case fatality rate of 21.1%, according to an epidemiological alert issued by the zone’s chief medical officer, Dr. Pacifique Kapimbu Wilondja.
The cases are concentrated in the Lubila health area, which lacks adequate logistical and medical support. Preliminary investigations identified the consumption of untreated water taken directly from the Lubila and Ulindi rivers as the main risk factor. Adults aged 18 to 50 account for most cases, although infections have also been recorded among children aged 1 to 5.
Cameroon and Chad Declare Cholera Outbreaks in Lake Chad Basin
Cameroon and Chad both declared cholera outbreaks in June 2026 in border districts of the Lake Chad Basin. In Cameroon, the Health Ministry confirmed the outbreak on June 29 after detecting Vibrio cholerae O1 Ogawa in the Mada and Makary districts of the Far North region. As of June 30, the country had recorded 121 cases and eight deaths.
In Chad, authorities declared an outbreak in mid-June after confirming the same serotype in the Karal health district in Hadjer-Lamis province. Transmission has since spread to 18 villages across five health areas, with 120 cases and four deaths recorded as of June 29.
The cross-border nature of the outbreaks underscores the need for stronger regional coordination on disease surveillance and water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in this particularly vulnerable region.
Since the beginning of the year, Africa CDC has recorded 63,095 cholera cases and 1,229 deaths across 19 African Union member states. The agency reported a case fatality rate of 2.22%.
Nigeria Records 221 Lassa Fever Deaths in First Half of 2026
Nigeria recorded 922 confirmed Lassa fever cases between January and the end of June 2026, up from 790 during the same period a year earlier, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. The death toll rose to 221 from 148, pushing the case fatality rate to 24% from 18.7% in the first half of 2025.
Cases were reported in 23 states, but five accounted for 85% of infections: Ondo, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo and Benue. Health workers accounted for 50 of the confirmed cases.
Lassa fever is transmitted mainly through contact with the droppings of the Mastomys natalensis rodent. Its symptoms resemble those of malaria, often delaying diagnosis and treatment.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
