BUJUMBURA, Burundi — African leaders and international partners have mobilised USD 910 million in pledges to combat the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak spreading across the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, following an emergency summit convened by the African Union.
The High-Level Emergency Meeting, chaired by Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye in his capacity as African Union Chairperson, brought together heads of state, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organisation, regional economic blocs, and donor nations to accelerate the response to the escalating health crisis.
African Union member states committed USD 80 million toward the total pledges-a move that Africa CDC hailed as a demonstration of continental solidarity and shared responsibility for health security.
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“We will be judged not by our declarations, but by our ability to interrupt transmission, protect health workers, restore community trust, and guarantee dignified care for affected families,” President Ndayishimiye told the gathering.
Leaders endorsed an immediate push to mobilise and disburse the full USD 518 million required for the Joint Continental Preparedness and Response Plan within the next four weeks.
The plan encompasses immediate response operations in affected zones and preparedness measures in at-risk countries, including surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory capacity, case management, infection prevention and control, risk communication, community engagement, logistics, medical countermeasures, and cross-border coordination.
“African countries have stepped forward with USD 80 million in commitments. This matters. It shows that Africa is taking responsibility for its own health security while calling on partners to align behind one plan, one budget and one team,” said Dr Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC.
“The priority now is speed. Every pledge must translate into financing, supplies, people and support reaching the communities and responders on the ground.”
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf extended condolences to affected families and commended frontline health workers for their dedication.
“The Ebola outbreak is a stark reminder that health security is a shared continental responsibility requiring urgent, coordinated and sustained action,” he said.
“The African Union remains fully committed to working with all stakeholders to strengthen resilience, advance coordinated public health responses, and ensure that no Member State is left behind in addressing this shared challenge.”
Africa CDC warned that inaction would dramatically increase both human and financial costs. If transmission is not rapidly contained, projected needs could balloon from USD 518 million to as much as USD 1.5 billion.
The meeting identified contact tracing as a central containment priority, with Africa CDC and WHO supporting affected and at-risk countries to achieve at least 90 to 95 percent monitoring of all contacts through the full 21-day incubation period.
Current reporting reveals persistent gaps in contact follow-up, supply availability, and operational access that continue to constrain containment efforts.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reaffirmed the organisation’s full backing for affected countries and the Africa CDC-led continental response.
“Under the leadership of DRC’s government and neighbouring nations, and with sustained regional and international support, we can defeat this Ebola outbreak, as we have with previous outbreaks,” Dr Tedros said.
“Strong cross-border cooperation among affected countries and neighbours will be critical for both the Ebola response and in addressing wider humanitarian needs.”
He emphasised the importance of maintaining essential health services for other pressing needs, including malaria, measles, malnutrition, and safe childbirth, even as the outbreak response continues.
The meeting called for intensified support to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to maintain and expand national response measures, including case finding, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, safe and dignified burials, treatment and isolation, and community engagement.
At-risk and neighbouring countries were urged to finalise and implement national Ebola preparedness and response plans, strengthen entry and exit screening, and share epidemiological data in real time across borders.
Africa CDC welcomed CEPI’s commitment of more than USD 60 million to accelerate the clinical development of vaccine candidates specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain.
The meeting called for African scientists, manufacturers, regulators, and institutions to be full partners in research, development, regulatory pathways, technology transfer, and future access arrangements.
Leaders also urged member states to join and operationalise the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism and support the African Medicines Agency as key platforms for faster access to medical countermeasures and stronger African health sovereignty.
Countries and partners were urged to avoid unnecessary travel or trade restrictions not grounded in public health evidence and international health regulations, while ensuring the continued movement of essential goods, samples, supplies, and health responders.
Africa CDC will lead a weekly commitment tracker to monitor pledges, disbursements, medical countermeasures, technical assistance, deployed personnel, delivered supplies, and remaining operational gaps.
The tracker aims to support transparency, accountability, and faster delivery against the Joint Continental Preparedness and Response Plan.
The summit concluded with a clear directive to governments, partners, donors, financial institutions, philanthropies, and the private sector: move from pledges to disbursement, from commitments to delivery, and from plans to action in communities bearing the burden of the outbreak.
Africa CDC remains fully deployed alongside affected and at-risk countries and will continue providing regular updates to member states and partners on the epidemiological situation, operational priorities, and resource gaps.
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