India and ​the ⁠African Union have ‌decided to ‌postpone ‌the ⁠India-Africa ⁠Forum Summit scheduled to ​be ‌held next week in ‌New ​Delhi, due to ⁠the “evolving health situation in parts of Africa”, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday (May 21, 2026).

The summit was initially scheduled to take place in New Delhi from May 28-31, 2026.

“Recognising the importance of ensuring the full participation and engagement of African leaders and stakeholders, and mindful of the emerging public health situation on the continent, consultations were held between the Government of India, the Chairperson of the African Union, and the African Union Commission regarding the holding of the Summit and associated activities,” the MEA said in its statement.

The Ministry said that the two sides agreed on convening the summit at a “later date” following consultations. ”New dates for the Summit and its associated meetings will be finalised through mutual consultations and communicated in due course,” it said.

Earlier this week, Nuur Mohamud Sheekh, spokesperson of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, had said the summit would provide an opportunity to work on “future pandemics” and a response mechanism.

“While the Ebola outbreak is affecting a number of African countries, it is important to underscore that pandemics and public health emergencies respect no borders and require collective international solidarity and cooperation,” Mr. Sheekh said on Monday (May 18, 2026) in an email response to The Hindu.

The statement had come a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). 

The Congolese Health Minister announced the opening of three treatment centres in the Ituri region in eastern Congo on Sunday (May 17, 2026) evening as he visited the region amid the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

“We know that the hospitals are already under stress because of the patients,” said Samuel Roger Kamba, the Health Minister, while visiting Bunia, the capital and largest city in Ituri. “But we are preparing to have treatment centers at all three sites in order to be able to expand our capabilities,” he further added

The World Health Organization declared the Ebola disease outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday (May 17, 2026), after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths in Congo and two in neighboring Uganda. Although the outbreak is centered in Ituri, cases have been reported in the capital, Kinshasa, and in Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo.

In a separate statement on X on Sunday (May 17, 2026), the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa said that a team of 35 experts from the WHO and the Congolese Ministry of Health had arrived in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, along with 7 tons of emergency medical supplies and equipment.

Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal. WHO’s emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action. By WHO’s standards, it shows the event is serious, there is a risk of international spread and it requires a coordinated international response.

Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, told Sky News on Sunday (May 17, 2026): “Currently I’m on panic mode because people are dying, I don’t have medicines, I don’t have vaccine to support countries. Yesterday I called for a meeting of all partners, we have some candidate vaccine, some candidate medicine, we are pursuing this route. We hope that we can have something in the next coming weeks.”

Health authorities say the current outbreak, first confirmed on Friday (May 15, 2026), is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant of the Ebola disease that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Although more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have taken place in Congo and Uganda, this is only the third time that the Bundibugyo virus has been detected.

The Bundibugyo virus was first detected in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district during a 2007-2008 outbreak that infected 149 people and killed 37. The second time was in 2012, in an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were reported.