Africa has secured approximately $498.8 million in pledges and commitments to strengthen response efforts against the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola Virus outbreak across affected and high-risk countries, as the death toll linked to the virus has risen to 220.
- +Africa receives $498.8 million Ebola response pledges as death toll hits 220
This was disclosed by Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, on Monday, May 26, 2026, through a post shared on X.
This was disclosed by Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, on Monday, May 26, 2026, through a post shared on X.
According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, the death toll linked to the Bundibugyo Ebola Virus has risen to 220, with Ghebreyesus adding that “at the moment, the epidemic is outpacing us.”
Kaseya said Africa is standing united against the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola Virus outbreak, with governments and development partners coordinating efforts to mobilise funding needed to strengthen response operations across the continent.
He described the commitments as a strong demonstration of African solidarity, leadership, and collective responsibility towards safeguarding the continent’s health security.
Kaseya further stressed that as the outbreak continues to evolve in a complex environment, trust, coordination, and rapid response efforts remain critical to stopping transmission and saving lives.
Recall that last week, Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, in a post shared on X, revealed that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has allocated up to $60 million from its emergency response fund to support efforts aimed at containing the ongoing Ebola outbreak linked to the rare Bundibugyo virus strain in Central Africa.
The emergency allocation came five days after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), warning that there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain spreading across parts of Central Africa.
As part of wider international response efforts, major contributions announced during the ministerial meeting included $160 million from the World Bank for Congo, $82 million from the United States, and about $57 million from European partners.
The outbreak continues to spread across parts of Central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
The Bundibugyo strain currently driving the outbreak does not yet have an approved vaccine or targeted treatment.
Most Ebola vaccines and antibody treatments available today were specifically developed for the more widespread and deadlier Zaire Ebola strain, which caused the 2014 to 2016 West African Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people.
