The European Commission has announced €493 million in emergency support for the Ebola response, including funding for vaccines, treatment and health security measures.
The aid package will support humanitarian efforts in the Great Lakes region and Uganda, following calls at the G7 summit for a stronger international response to the Bundibugyo strain outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries.
"We continue to closely monitor the situation as it evolves, along with our partners, to ensure that this dangerous virus does not spread, including across borders," the leaders said.
The United States has already committed more than $700 million to the response effort, according to a U.S. health official, who also called on other countries to increase their contributions.
The funding is expected to support emergency response measures, surveillance systems and medical interventions aimed at controlling transmission in affected regions.
Efforts to develop vaccines are also gathering pace. Richard Hatchett, head of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, said candidate vaccines developed by the University of Oxford and Moderna could enter early-phase clinical trials as soon as July.
If the initial trials prove successful, field testing could begin within months, offering hope of a longer-term solution to contain the outbreak.
Health officials in Africa have warned that the situation could deteriorate rapidly if stronger measures are not implemented.
Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said the outbreak has the potential to become one of the worst on record.
"If we don't stop the outbreak very soon, it will be worse than what we had in West Africa and eastern DRC," Jean Kaseya told a virtual meeting of African leaders.
He was referring to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, which killed more than 11,000 people, as well as a later outbreak in eastern Congo.
A key concern remains the ability to trace and monitor those who may have been exposed to the virus. Officials say tens of thousands of contacts have yet to be identified or followed up.
Current data shows that only around 12% of expected contacts are under active monitoring, raising fears that undetected chains of transmission could fuel further spread.
The outbreak, driven by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, is centred in eastern Congo, where ongoing insecurity and limited access to healthcare have complicated response efforts.
With international support now being mobilised and vaccine development advancing, health authorities stress that rapid and coordinated action will be critical to preventing a wider crisis.
Experts warn that cross-border movement across Central and East Africa could increase the risk of international spread, making regional co-operation and early intervention essential to containing the outbreak.
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Russia is willing in principle to resume peace talks with Ukraine and the United States in November, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said after President Vladimir Putin met U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.
Saudi Aramco has ordered staff to evacuate its headquarters amid escalating Houthi attacks on the kingdom. Two people were killed in an attack on Dammam airport, while Iran's IRGC Navy claimed strikes on seven vessels and warned the U.S. of a wider response.
Yemen's Houthis have denied targeting the holy city of Medina on Wednesday adding that they have not conducted any military operations towards Saudi Arabia either, denying earlier comments from the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight killed at least two people and injured 15 others, including two children, Ukrainian authorities said. Meanwhile, Russia said it had intercepted the vast majority of 630 Ukrainian drones launched towards Moscow.
Georgia’s Constitutional Court in Batumi will on Wednesday hear a lawsuit seeking to ban five Georgian opposition parties, four of which collectively gained 784,820 votes (37.79 per cent) in the country’s last national elections in 2024.
Visitors to Armenia could face temperature screening after a lab worker died from suspected Pneumonic plague in Russia, Yerevan’s Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan told lawmakers on Wednesday, Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported.
Health advice now reaches people through social media, fitness apps, wearable technology and AI. From detoxes and protein-focused diets to skincare and fitness trends, online wellness content is shaping everyday health choices while raising concerns about misinformation and potential risks.
Global cholera deaths reached their highest annual level in more than 20 years in 2025, despite a decline in reported cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Chinese researchers have developed the world’s smallest CT scanner, a portable device designed to produce images of tiny fossils and archaeological relics.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 17 September 2026. These are the top five stories making headlines in the field of health.
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