ADDIS ABABA — The ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has escalated into the most geographically widespread in the virus’s history, prompting urgent pleas for international intervention. The warning from Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya comes on the heels of Nigeria confirming its first case of the deadly strain.
“Every day of delay costs lives,” Kaseya stated, emphasizing the severe regional and global implications of the crisis. “Africa’s health security is global health security. Stopping Ebola in Africa today means protecting the world.”
With the epidemic’s footprint expanding, the Africa CDC is actively mobilizing support for Nigeria while simultaneously scaling up its emergency response operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Kenya. The agency is also maintaining heightened vigilance in neighboring Uganda.
The DRC remains the epicenter of the outbreak, where the mortality rate for the Bundibugyo strain is approaching a devastating 50 percent. In response to the growing threat across multiple regions, Kaseya stressed that local and continental efforts alone are not enough to halt the transmission.
“My appeal to the international community is urgent: act now,” Kaseya urged. He outlined the critical need for immediate and flexible financing, medical supplies, diagnostic tools, and trained personnel to support stronger community-based surveillance and frontline healthcare workers.
The spread of the Bundibugyo strain for which there are currently no approved therapeutics or specific vaccines across three African regions has raised significant concerns about cross-border transmission and the need for coordinated, large-scale preparedness
