Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported on June 18 that an Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed 202 people since May 15, amid regional containment efforts.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) confirmed that the active Ebola outbreak has reached a 23% lethality rate. While 232 patients have died, 67 individuals have successfully recovered from this severe hemorrhagic fever.
The interim head of emergency preparedness at the agency, Wessam Mankoula, stated that the eastern province of Ituri remains the absolute epicentre of this health crisis, concentrating 91% of registered infections and 78% of deaths.
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The virus has also spread to neighboring North Kivu province, in which territory the ongoing military conflict between the national army and irregular armed groups makes the region highly inaccessible to international medical response teams.
Meanwhile, neighboring Uganda has reported 19 confirmed cases, including 14 imported infections and two deaths, causing regional alarm.
Daily Ebola update:
– Cases: 915 (+21)
– Recovered: 88 (+16)
– Deaths: 234 (+30) pic.twitter.com/U259kXTYF5— BNO News (@BNOFeed) June 18, 2026
This epidemic corresponds to the highly lethal Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. This specific variant historically carries a mortality rate between 30% and 50%, and currently lacks an authorized vaccine or targeted treatment.
The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) designated this outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern on May 17. The agency revealed that the pathogen had circulated silently in Ituri for two months.
African Union Mobilizes Funds
The African Union (AU) mobilized 910 million dollars in financial pledges this Thursday to accelerate emergency health response programs in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring East African countries.
This extensive package includes 80 million dollars provided directly by African Union member states. The funds were committed during a high-level emergency summit featuring African heads of State, the W.H.O. and international donors.
Regional leaders backed the immediate deployment of 518 million dollars over the next four weeks. This capital will finance the Continental Joint Preparedness and Response Plan to secure local border communities.
One month since the outbreak was declared, response efforts continue across affected areas, while Uganda and DRC remain committed to strengthening surveillance, contact follow-up and community engagement.
At the High-Level Meeting of African Heads of State, Governments and… pic.twitter.com/ElCPYAaz54
— Africa CDC (@AfricaCDC) June 17, 2026
The joint continental initiative focuses on epidemiological surveillance, laboratory capacity, contact tracing, infection control and cross-border coordination to isolate the virus and prevent a massive continental transmission.
Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, urged international donors to convert these pledges into tangible medical resources immediately, affirming that delaying these actions would inevitably increase the human and financial costs of the response.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.