WHO urges coordinated action as Ebola poses regional threat in Africa

KINSHASA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday warned that the ongoing Ebola outbreak has become a regional public health concern, calling for urgent collective action as infections spread across Central, Eastern and Western Africa.

Staff members prepare meals for people under quarantine in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on June 4, 2026. (File photo: Xinhua)

"Ebola does not wait. It follows movement, exploits gaps, and tests the strength of our health systems," WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Yakub Janabi said during an online press briefing.

"Today, the test is no longer confined to one place," he said, stressing that the increasingly complex outbreak demands regional vigilance and collective resolve.

Janabi said Nigeria has confirmed an imported case of Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus, while Kenya has reported nine cases, including one death.

Kenya's Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth said at the briefing that the eight patients were receiving treatment, while more than 120 people remained in quarantine. He said Kenyan authorities had requested 10,000 vaccine doses from the WHO and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to strengthen protection for frontline health workers.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the outbreak was declared in May, the disease has spread to eight of the country's 26 provinces.

According to the latest figures released late Wednesday by the DRC's health authorities, the country had recorded 9,704 confirmed Ebola cases, including 4,687 deaths, as of Oct. 20, with a case fatality rate of 48.3 percent.

Janabi expressed particular concern over continued transmission in communities, noting that around six in every 10 recent Ebola deaths in the DRC had occurred outside treatment centers.

The warning came as the Africa CDC announced Wednesday that it would convene an extraordinary virtual meeting of African health ministers on Oct. 28 to coordinate efforts against the escalating outbreak.

On Tuesday evening, following Nigeria's confirmation of its first Ebola case, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya warned that the outbreak had become the most geographically widespread Ebola epidemic on record, with infections reported across Central, Eastern and Western Africa.

The epidemic was declared in the DRC on May 15 and designated a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO two days later. The Africa CDC subsequently declared it a public health emergency of continental security.

The current Ebola outbreak has become the largest and deadliest ever recorded in the DRC and the second-largest Ebola outbreak globally, after the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic.