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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The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has climbed to 1,759, including 600 deaths, according to government data released on Wednesday.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reached a significant milestone in its fight against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, with the first patient enrolled in a clinical treatment trial aimed at identifying effective therapies for the disease.
France has confirmed its first Ebola case linked to the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a doctor returning from a humanitarian mission tested positive for the virus, the health ministry said on Wednesday (24 June).
Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo have surpassed 1,000, with health officials warning that the outbreak is spreading rapidly through displacement camps and across borders.
The U.S. says it has launched strikes on Iran after alleged attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington described the action as a response to threats against civilian shipping and a breach of the ceasefire.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran to end the conflict was "over", adding he did not want to engage with Tehran, calling the Iranian leadership "sick people".
NATO leaders are unveiling multi-billion-dollar arms deals in Ankara as President Donald Trump joins the summit, highlighting Europe's increased defence spending amid tensions over Russia and Iran, and following years of U.S. criticism of the alliance.
Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, has described fresh U.S. strikes on Iran as "absolutely necessary," in remarks at the start of the second day of the alliance's sumit in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 8th of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has climbed to 1,759, including 600 deaths, according to government data released on Wednesday.
The World Health Organization has warned that Europe could face "more deadly weeks" as another intense heatwave develops over the Atlantic, urging governments to strengthen emergency preparations before temperatures rise again.
More than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded across Europe since June 21 as the continent faces extreme heat, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
The Central African Republic declared a cholera outbreak after 197 cases, including 24 deaths, were confirmed in two health districts southwest of the country’s capital Bangui, local media reported Saturday.
As France endures a record-breaking heatwave that has been linked to at least 40 drowning deaths, forecasters are using three key terms - pic de chaleur, vague de chaleur and canicule. Here's what they mean.
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