The head of the World Health Organization on Monday (June 8, 2026) visited Uganda, where a deadly Ebola outbreak has killed two people after spreading from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

The WHO has declared an international health emergency over the current outbreak, which was announced on May 15 in the northeastern DRC.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently also visited the DRC, which has seen 515 confirmed Ebola infections, including 91 deaths, according to the UN health agency.

“I am in Uganda, where the government has mounted a prompt and capable response to the outbreak of Ebola,” Mr. Tedros wrote on X.

“Screening at the borders helped detect cases arriving from neighbouring DRC, and the country’s surveillance, testing and case management systems are doing steady work,” he said.

The WHO chief, early on Monday (June 8, 2026), met a senior Ugandan health ministry official, a WHO spokesman in Geneva told AFP.

“Of the 19 confirmed cases so far, 14 were among people who entered from DRC and five are Ugandan nationals,” Mr. Tedros said on X.

“Sadly, two people from DRC have died, and our thoughts are with their families,” he added.

It is the 17th Ebola outbreak to hit the DRC, a vast central African country of more than 100 million people.

There is no specific vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo Ebola strain behind the latest outbreak.

Mr. Tedros said the WHO was supporting Uganda alongside the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and other partners across the region “as the country leads this response”.

“With continued collaboration, I am confident this outbreak can be brought under control,” he added.

The World Health Organization chief announced a $518 million six-month joint ​plan to fight Ebola on Friday (June 5, 2026), calling for money ‌and political commitment to halt the spread of ​the outbreak that is already the ⁠fourth biggest on record.

“It’s time-bound plan covering June to November this year, and… the cost of the plan is ‌at $518 million,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announcing the strategy with Africa Centres for ‌Disease Control and Prevention.

“The outbreak is moving ‌fast ⁠and we are still playing catch-up,” he said. “Containing ⁠Ebola requires political commitment, sustained finances and trust in engaging the communities,” he added.

The epidemic persisted for weeks undetected, the ​Africa CDC said at the ‌same briefing, leaving health authorities now behind the curve and struggling to bring it under control.

So far there have been 381 confirmed cases ‌in Congo and 62 confirmed deaths, according ​to Africa CDC.

The rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no ⁠approved treatment or vaccine, is responsible for the current outbreak.

“This outbreak is very serious. If you compare ‌with previous Bundibugyo outbreaks this is the most serious Bundibugyo outbreak we have,” Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said at the same press conference.

He said that donors have so far pledged $315.8 million towards containing the disease, down from an original $498 million ‌after he said some donors “corrected” their figures. It was not immediately ​clear if that pledged money would go towards the six-month plan or not ⁠and he did not provide further details.

The Africa CDC announced ⁠the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, on May ‌15, and the World Health Organization swiftly declared it a public health emergency of international concern.

The ​World Health Organization (WHO) said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has resulted in 321 confirmed cases, along with 116 suspected cases, marking a large drop in the number of suspected cases as hundreds were ruled ‌out after investigation.

The agency said on Tuesday (June 2, 2026) there had been 48 deaths and six people have recovered in Congo. ‌The Congolese authorities first put out the new case numbers on ‌Monday (June 1, 2026).

WHO declares international emergency as Ebola outbreak kills more than 80 in DR Congo

In ⁠Uganda there have been nine confirmed cases and one associated ⁠death, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.

The WHO said on Friday (May 29, 2026) that there were 906 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic ​of Congo, including 223 suspected deaths ‌that were being investigated. Later Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an Financial Times (FT) op-ed published on Sunday (May 31, 2026) that more than 1,100 suspected cases were being investigated.

When asked ‌why the latest figures showed a significantly lower number of ​suspected cases, Mr. Lindmeier said the data suggested hundreds of cases had been discounted. “They have been cleared out and have ⁠either other diseases or have just had fever and nothing else,” Mr.  Lindmeier said, adding that the numbers would fluctuate over time as people get ‌tested. “A suspected case includes anyone who is picked up by surveillance or who presents with symptoms at a health centre,” he added. Confirmed cases include only those who have tested positive for Ebola Bundibugyo.

Testing has been a challenge in this outbreak as initially the more common tests used for Ebola did not detect the Bundibugyo strain, for which ‌there is no approved vaccine, and capacity has been limited.

The U.S. Centers for Disease ​Control and Prevention’s website also listed 116 suspected cases, and added: “On May 29, the DRC Ministry of Health updated their ⁠total suspect case count to remove suspected cases that have been ruled ⁠out after investigation and suspected deaths that are pending the results of ongoing investigation.”

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced ‌the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, on May 15, and the WHO swiftly declared ​it a public health emergency of international concern.