WHO chief Tedros urges urgent action as Ebola spreads in Congo

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus used the closing session of the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly on May 23 to warn that the latest Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks show how exposed countries remain to fast-moving infectious disease threats. UN News said the WHO director-general called for urgent action on the Ebola response and for stronger pandemic preparedness as ministers and delegates wrapped up the week-long meeting in Geneva. (news.un.org) The warning came days after WHO declared the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, or PHEIC. (who.int) WHO said the outbreak involves the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment, although candidate tools are being tested. The assembly itself ran from May 18 to May 23 in Geneva and ended after member states adopted more than 20 decisions and 13 resolutions on health issues ranging from tuberculosis to antimicrobial resistance and emergency care. (news.un.org) Tedros used the close of that meeting to link the current outbreak response to the broader question of whether governments will keep funding surveillance and preparedness systems. ### Why did Tedros raise Ebola and hantavirus together? Tedros said on May 23 that the recent Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks demonstrate that the world is still vulnerable to rapidly spreading infectious diseases. (who.int) UN News reported that he used the two outbreaks as current examples while urging countries to act immediately on both emergency response and longer-term preparedness. UN News had already reported on May 18 that the World Health Assembly opened under the shadow of Ebola in Central Africa, a hantavirus-linked cruise ship evacuation, funding cuts and geopolitical tension. (who.int) That framing carried through to the closing day, when Tedros returned to the same message. ### What is happening in Congo and Uganda? WHO said the Democratic Republic of the Congo confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province on May 15, and the agency said it was scaling up support to the government. WHO’s Africa office described it as the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak since 1976 and said cross-border spread to Uganda had also been recorded. (news.un.org) WHO said on May 17 that the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda met the threshold for a PHEIC under the International Health Regulations, though it did not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency. (news.un.org) The agency cited rising cases, cross-border spread and uncertainty about the outbreak’s scale. A WHO outbreak page published May 22 said the outbreak is unfolding in a challenging setting that includes humanitarian crisis, insecurity and affected areas that are remote and densely populated. (afro.who.int) WHO also said the Bundibugyo species involved is one for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment. ### What did WHO say countries need to do now? Tedros urged member states to strengthen surveillance and funding, according to UN News’ account of his closing remarks on May 23. His appeal tied the immediate Ebola response to the wider preparedness agenda that WHO has continued to press since the COVID-19 pandemic. (who.int) WHO’s Emergency Committee issued temporary recommendations on May 22 for the DRC-Uganda Ebola epidemic. WHO said those recommendations cover coordinated international support, surveillance, case management, infection prevention and control, vaccination and research priorities, and cross-border measures under the International Health Regulations process. (who.int) ### What happens after the Geneva meeting ends? The May 22 temporary recommendations are now the formal benchmark for governments and health agencies responding to the DRC-Uganda outbreak. WHO’s outbreak pages and Africa regional updates are expected to track case counts, operations and cross-border developments as the response continues in Ituri Province and neighboring Uganda. (news.un.org) (who.int)