African Union pledges $910 million to fight Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda

The African Union’s $910 million pledge to fight Ebola in Congo and Uganda is a clear attempt to shift outbreak financing toward African leadership rather than waiting on outside donors. The package includes $80 million from African member states, and Africa CDC says the goal is to speed containment, not merely bankroll treatment after infections surge.

The money is meant to move quickly into surveillance, laboratory testing, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, community engagement, logistics, essential health services and the protection of health workers. That matters because Bundibugyo Ebola has no licensed vaccine or specific therapeutics, and WHO says early supportive care is lifesaving.

The strongest sign of how fast the response is meant to move is the continental plan already put forward by Africa CDC and WHO. That six-month “One Response” plan seeks $518 million, and Africa CDC said leaders endorsed urgent action to mobilize and disburse the full amount within four weeks. Africa CDC also said at least $319 million is needed between June and November 2026 to strengthen outbreak control and preparedness in 11 high-risk African Union member states.

The outbreak has already crossed borders. WHO said the Democratic Republic of the Congo had reported 515 confirmed cases and 91 deaths as of June 6, rising to 676 confirmed cases and 136 deaths by June 10. Uganda had reported 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths, plus one probable death as of June 6, and 19 confirmed cases and two deaths by June 11.

WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17, after Congo and Uganda declared outbreaks on May 15. The CDC says Uganda’s cases were linked to transmission originating in Congo, including imported infections and secondary transmission among contacts and health workers.

The stakes are high because Bundibugyo virus has appeared before. The CDC says two earlier outbreaks were recorded in Uganda in 2007 and in Congo in 2012, with death rates of 32 percent and 55 percent respectively. WHO has warned that the current outbreak has already affected health workers early in the response.

International partners have also moved. South Africa initially pledged $2.5 million and later doubled that to $5 million for Africa CDC’s continental Ebola response. The Gates Foundation pledged $5 million to Africa CDC and $10 million to WHO. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Africa was “no longer waiting passively for others to act.”

The next test is execution. WHO and Africa CDC have built the case for a locally led response; the challenge is whether the pledges can be translated into cash, logistics and field capacity fast enough to blunt cross-border spread. CDC’s June 15 travel notice recommends enhanced precautions for Uganda and nonaffected Congo provinces, and avoiding nonessential travel to Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.