WHO Declares Global Emergency as Ebola Spreads Through Eastern Congo Amid War and Hunger

The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a public health emergency of international concern, as the virus spreads through the country's conflict-ravaged east and crosses the border into neighboring Uganda.

Congo's Ministry of Health first confirmed the outbreak on May 15 in Ituri province, in the northeastern corner of the country. Two days later, on May 17, the WHO's emergency committee determined the situation warranted its highest level of global alarm — a designation reserved for events that threaten to spread internationally and demand a coordinated response.

In an update published May 31, Congo's Health Ministry reported 282 confirmed cases, including 42 confirmed deaths, with another 220 suspected cases still under investigation. Laboratory analysis by the National Institute of Biomedical Research identified the pathogen as Bundibugyo virus, one of several species in the Ebola family. Ituri has borne the brunt of the outbreak, though confirmed cases have also been detected in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

The virus has not stayed within Congo's borders. Uganda has reported nine confirmed cases, including at least one death, with several of those infections linked to travel from Congo — a pattern that has alarmed regional health authorities and prompted enhanced screening at crossing points.

What makes this outbreak especially dangerous, the WHO warns, is the setting. Eastern Congo is gripped by armed conflict, with militia violence and mass displacement complicating efforts to trace contacts, vaccinate at-risk populations and safely bury the dead. Hunger and a battered health system compound the threat. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's senior leadership traveled to the region over the weekend to assess the response firsthand.

Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of infected people and can kill a large share of those it infects if untreated. Health workers are racing to deploy vaccines and ring-fence new clusters, but responders say insecurity is repeatedly forcing teams to suspend operations. International partners have pledged support, though the response is unfolding against the backdrop of shrinking global aid budgets and a depleted U.S. diplomatic and development presence on the continent.