The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is one of the largest on record, with more than 1,700 cases confirmed since April. Dozens of governments and health organizations are supporting the public health response caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus. Their approaches reveal how global health is evolving after US cuts to international aid.

What it will take to stop the growing Ebola outbreak

After closing the US Agency for International Development and cutting budgets for overseas medical projects in 2025, the US federal government is now focused on preventing Ebola from crossing its own borders. In May, it imposed travel bans on foreign nationals entering from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. A field hospital in Kenya was funded to hold exposed and infected Americans locally, rather than repatriate them. Canada and the Bahamas have also imposed travel bans.

The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have criticized these travel bans as lacking scientific basis. Evidence shows that such restrictions do little to contain the spread of Ebola (C. Poletto et al. Euro surveillance. 1920936; 2014). They often create economic damage by disrupting supply chains, cross-border trade and tourism (YL Bazak et al. BMJ Globe. Health 9e013900; 2024).

In contrast, the Africa CDC-coordinated approach focuses on evidence-based measures such as community notification, case isolation, and infection control protocols in healthcare facilities, all coupled with community engagement. In my opinion, as a pandemic preparedness governance expert who worked on vaccine access during the COVID-19 pandemic, this cooperative model is the most effective and ethical way to address future epidemics and pandemics. Other nations must support it.

Better diagnostics could have limited this Ebola outbreak

Within days of confirming that Ebola was circulating among humans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, the Africa CDC declared a “mainland security public health emergency.” The above statements were issued by the WHO and designed to alert the international community about the risk of cross-border spread. They have often been slow in coming; for example, the 2014 declaration of Ebola in West Africa followed months of transmission and more than 900 deaths. But this time, the Africa CDC treated the declaration as a means to mobilize assistance, quickly coordinating with the WHO to contain the outbreak and direct resources to where they are needed most, under a single plan, budget and team.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo increased bed capacity in health facilities, established a decentralized testing network throughout the affected region, and created detection and referral units to identify and classify cases. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and its people are determining how and where to focus resources and efforts, rather than limiting transmission across borders.

At a high-level meeting of African health ministers I attended in May, several countries pledged cash or in-kind support for the DRC’s response, without asking for anything in return. I repeatedly heard ministers emphasize the need for solidarity with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This contrasts with the bilateral agreements the United States is signing with other nations. These require recipient countries to meet a variety of stipulations, including providing access to their disease data without reciprocal access to US data, and commitments to co-fund substantial portions of pandemic preparedness and surveillance efforts.