Africa CDC convenes health ministers as its chief warns Ebola could spread beyond Africa

Africa CDC is convening African health ministers on Wednesday 28 October 2026 to discuss an Ebola outbreak centred in DR Congo. The meeting focuses on cross-border and continental coordination. The outbreak has reached Kenya, where authorities are responding.

Dr Jean Kaseya is Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). According to The Guardian, he warned that the outbreak could reach countries outside Africa.

Scale of the outbreak

The Guardian reports 10,091 cases in total, 10,060 of them in DR Congo. It reports 4,887 deaths in DR Congo, two in Uganda and two in Kenya. The newspaper does not say who compiled these figures or what date they apply to.

According to The Guardian, the Bundibugyo virus causes the outbreak. The newspaper reports that the virus has no approved treatment and that vaccine trials are under way. It is DR Congo's 17th Ebola outbreak and the largest and deadliest in the country's history, according to The Guardian. The newspaper reports that DR Congo's health ministry declared the outbreak in Ituri province on 15 May. It adds that sequencing shows the outbreak began in February.

The Guardian reports that the outbreak has spread to Uganda and Kenya. According to the newspaper, Nigeria confirmed a case in Abuja last week after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive. France is the only non-African country to have confirmed a case so far, The Guardian reports. That case, confirmed in June, was a doctor who had returned from DR Congo.

According to The Guardian, inadequate protective equipment and unpaid health worker wages have hampered the response, and the unpaid wages have led to strikes. The newspaper reports that conflict in DR Congo, mistrust towards officials, misinformation and global aid cuts have further complicated the response.

Support for Kenya

According to AllAfrica, Kaseya met Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale. AllAfrica reports that Africa CDC has mobilised about US$1.5 million in support for Kenya. This includes 10 African public health experts, laboratory reagents and diagnostic test kits, and support for surveillance and contact tracing. According to AllAfrica, Africa CDC is also providing equipment worth about US$350,000 to Kenya's Public Health Emergency Operations Centre.

What each side says

The Guardian quoted Kaseya as saying: "It is the first time three African regions have been affected [by Ebola]. The geographic extension of this outbreak is unprecedented." He also said: "We want all countries to know that they are not safe if they don’t take appropriate measures." He compared the situation to the early stages of Covid and added: "We don’t want to see the UK and other countries become the hotspot." He urged screening and testing at points of entry and exit for people coming from affected regions.

According to The Guardian, Kaseya said governments pledged $3bn for the response but more than $2bn is still outstanding. "We need this money now," he said. The Guardian reports that he will meet African heads of state in November and call for a "corridor of peace" in conflict areas. He said he expects vaccine trial results in three to six months.

According to AllAfrica, Africa CDC praised Kenya's government for its political leadership, rapid mobilisation and containment measures.

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include figures or assessments from the World Health Organization, national health ministries or UK health authorities.

Analysis

The figures for the whole outbreak come from one outlet, The Guardian, which does not name the body that compiled them. Africa CDC and Kaseya are the main source behind both reports. The 28 October ministers' meeting may show whether countries agree on shared measures such as screening and testing at borders. The gap in funding that Kaseya describes may affect how fast the response can grow, but the reports do not say which donors have paid their pledges. Vaccine trial results and access to conflict areas in Ituri are other open questions that may shape how the outbreak develops.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.