The World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa Region has urged the public to remain calm despite the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda being classified as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Prof. Mohamed Janabi, said the declaration was intended to strengthen international coordination and mobilise resources, not to create fear among the public.
Speaking on the outbreak, Janabi stressed that Ebola remains a serious but manageable disease if proper measures are taken.
“Fear by itself is an outbreak,” he said, urging the media and the public to rely on verified information.
According to him, the PHEIC classification represents the highest level of alert issued by WHO and is aimed at drawing global attention to the outbreak, accelerating support and ensuring coordinated action among countries.
“Ebola disease is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and other primates. But it does not mean people should panic. It means the global system is working as it should be, detecting and responding decisively,” he said.
Janabi disclosed that health authorities in the DRC and Uganda, with support from WHO, had already identified cases, commenced contact tracing and activated emergency response strategies.
He said WHO was collaborating with national authorities, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and other partners to contain the outbreak through surveillance, treatment and public awareness campaigns.
“We are engaging communities to create awareness, strengthening cross-border surveillance to prevent further spread and mobilising partners across Africa to provide the needed expertise and support,” he said.
The WHO official noted that vaccination alone would not stop the outbreak, emphasising the importance of surveillance, contact tracing, isolation and treatment of infected persons.
As of May 16, health authorities had confirmed eight Ebola cases in Ituri Province in eastern DRC, alongside 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths.
Unconfirmed reports on Sunday also indicated that a person tested positive for Ebola in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, while additional infections were reported in Beni, Kinshasa and neighbouring Uganda.
WHO said Uganda had recorded cases involving individuals who travelled from the DRC and were later admitted to intensive care, while the Ugandan capital, Kampala, had also been affected.
The organisation disclosed that 42 health professionals had been deployed to support response efforts, alongside emergency medical supplies.
WHO warned that the outbreak could be larger than currently detected due to clusters of unexplained deaths, high positivity rates among tested samples and limited understanding of transmission patterns.
The agency also expressed concern over the deaths of at least four healthcare workers, describing it as a sign of weak infection prevention measures in some health facilities.
In a statement, WHO noted that there was currently no approved vaccine or treatment specifically for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak.
The organisation added that insecurity, humanitarian crises, population movement and the presence of informal healthcare facilities in affected areas were increasing the risk of wider transmission.
Meanwhile, global health experts have warned that the likelihood of future pandemics continues to rise.
The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) said recent Ebola outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic had exposed the world’s vulnerability to infectious diseases.
“The world is not safer from pandemics,” the experts said in a new report, warning that outbreaks were becoming more frequent and increasingly damaging to health systems, economies and societies worldwide.
