Uganda: High-level ministerial meeting on cross-border coordination on the ebola disease outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus

Countries: Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo Source: World Health Organization OMMUNIQUÉ Kampala, Republic of Uganda - WE, the Ministers of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of Uganda, and the Republic of South Sudan, together with Heads of Delegations, representatives of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and development and technical partners, convened at the High-Level Ministerial Meeting on Cross-Border Coordination on the Ebola Disease Outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus held in Kampala, Uganda, from 22–23 May 2026 under the theme: "Regional Solidarity, Preparedness and Coordinated Response. PREAMBLE MINDFUL that Ebola disease remains a high-consequence public health threat with severe health, humanitarian, social, and economic implications for affected countries and the region; CONCERNED by the evolving Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak declared by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 15 May 2026, following laboratory confirmation of the Bundibugyo species in Ituri province; NOTING with concern the epidemiological situation as of 20 May 2026, including confirmed transmission in Ituri and Nord-Kivu provinces, increasing numbers of suspected and confirmed cases, ongoing chains of transmission, and documented cross-border population movement signals involving Uganda and the broader region; NOTING that the current outbreak affecting and Kivu provinces constitutes both a Public Emergency of International Concern and a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security, requiring strengthened regional coordination and solidarity to urgently contain the outbreak and prevent further cross-border spread; RECOGNISING the heightened regional risk associa...

Original source: Relief Web