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The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has called for urgent international support for Nigeria following the confirmation of a case of Bundibugyo virus disease in the country.
The agency’s Director-General, Dr Jean Kaseya, made the appeal on his official X account on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, after speaking with Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, who informed him of the confirmed case.
Kaseya commended Pate for his transparency and leadership, stressing that “early case notification saves lives.”
Africa CDC calls for immediate funding, medical supplies
Kaseya urged the international community to provide immediate and flexible funding, medical equipment, diagnostic tools, qualified response personnel and stronger community surveillance to help contain the outbreak.
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He warned that the outbreak must not spread to more countries or continue for another year, calling for urgent action to prevent further loss of life.
- “My call to the international community is urgent: LET US ACT NOW! We need immediate and flexible funding, medical equipment, diagnostic tools, qualified response personnel, and strengthened community surveillance. We cannot allow this outbreak to spread to other countries or to continue for another year,” he wrote.
- “Every day of delay costs lives. Africa’s health security is inseparable from global health security. Stopping Ebola in Africa today means protecting the entire world. Nigeria can count on our full solidarity and unwavering support. Together, we must defeat this outbreak,” he added.
Kaseya outlined Africa CDC’s ongoing response across the region.
- “Africa CDC has already begun mobilizing its support to Nigeria, while intensifying its response in the DRC and Kenya and maintaining heightened vigilance in Uganda,” he wrote.
Ebola outbreak spreads across three African regions
Kaseya said the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak had become the most geographically extensive in history, affecting several countries across three African regions.
He recalled that Africa CDC declared the outbreak on May 15, 2026, after warning of its regional dimension and the risks of cross-border spread.
- Describing the severity of the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kaseya said, “With a lethality rate approaching 50% in the DRC, we are facing an extremely serious threat.”
Ebola outbreak raises regional health concerns
The latest appeal comes amid the spread of Ebola across several African countries and concerns over the transparency and accountability of response funding.
- On October 18, 2026, Nairametrics reported that Kenya confirmed four new Ebola cases, bringing its total to seven infections, including one death. Three of the new cases involved healthcare workers who had attended to the country’s first patient.
- Earlier on October 16, 2026, Nairametrics reported that Africa CDC raised concerns over more than $700 million in Ebola response funds that remained unaccounted for in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- The agency said international donors had disbursed approximately $962 million to organisations implementing response programmes, but only about 30% of those organisations provided financial information during a verification exercise.
International agencies have also stepped up efforts to contain the outbreak. On June On June 6, 2026, Nairametrics reported that the World Health Organization unveiled a $518 million, six-month plan to contain Ebola outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda.
