By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a $5 million contribution from South Africa to support the fight against the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak.
Ramaphosa made the announcement during an urgent High-Level Briefing on the Ebola outbreak situation in Africa held on Monday.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 200 people have died amid continued transmission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, while several neighbouring countries remain at heightened risk.
Ramaphosa praised frontline healthcare workers and called for greater protection and support for medical personnel dealing with the outbreak.
“It is of utmost importance that we ensure their lives and livelihoods are protected,” he said, stressing the need for sufficient personal protective equipment, additional staffing and better medical resources.
Ramaphosa said organisations including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Unitaid were working with Africa CDC and WHO on clinical trial preparations for promising vaccine and therapeutic candidates.
“We strongly support these efforts, as Africa cannot continue to face deadly epidemics without equitable access to diagnostics, vaccines and treatments,” he said.
African leaders have aligned behind a continental preparedness and response plan valued at approximately $319m for the period between June and November 2026. The funding will support outbreak control measures in affected countries and strengthen preparedness in at least 10 high-risk Member States.
The President emphasised the outbreak currently confronting Uganda and the DRC is a reminder that preparedness cannot begin when a crisis is already expanding.
“We must continue investing in resilient health systems, strong national public health institutes, emergency operations centres, local manufacturing of medical countermeasures, community health workers, genomic surveillance and sustainable domestic financing.”
“Africa has the institutions, expertise and leadership to respond effectively. What is required now is speed, unity, solidarity and trust in our collective capacity.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a delay in detecting Ebola cases meant responders were now “playing catch-up” and the epidemic was likely to get worse before it gets better.
Tedros said he would travel to Congo – the epicentre of the outbreak – on Tuesday with another senior WHO official responsible for addressing health emergencies, Chikwe Ihekweazu.
The WHO has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola a public health emergency of international concern.
Tedros said containing the fast-moving outbreak was complicated by the fact that Congo’s Ituri and North Kivu provinces were highly insecure and there were no approved vaccines for Bundibugyo virus.