Weekly Health Update | Ebola Worsens Hunger in DRC; Cholera Spreads in Sudan
Africa’s health news this week was dominated by the rapid spread of the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda’s declaration that its Ebola outbreak was over. In Sudan, cholera has spread to four states as the health system comes under mounting strain. Beyond these immediate. . .
Africa’s health news this week was dominated by the rapid spread of the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda’s declaration that its Ebola outbreak was over. In Sudan, cholera has spread to four states as the health system comes under mounting strain. Beyond these immediate crises, declining external funding, particularly from the United States, continues to threaten gains in the fight against HIV across the continent. Bundibugyo Ebola in DRC: Fastest Outbreak on Record Nears National High With 3,300 Cases and 1,500 DeathsAs of July 30, the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the DRC had caused 3,360 confirmed cases and 1,487 deaths, nearing the 3,470 cases recorded during the major 2018-2020 outbreak, which lasted nearly two years. The current outbreak has reached that level in less than two and a half months, making it the fastest spread recorded in the country’s history. Cases are doubling about every 20 days, according to Julien Harneis, the United Nations coordinator for the Ebola response. “There is no doubt that the virus is spreading faster than we can contain it,” said Onesphore Bangenza, who leads Mercy Corps’ response in Bunia. The outbreak remains concentrated in Ituri province, where 48 health zones are affected, although it has now spread to five DRC provinces. DRC: Ebola Outbreak Worsens Food Insecurity, WFP WarnsThe outbreak is also worsening food insecurity. World Food Programme acting executive director Carl Skau, who visited Rwampara in Ituri on July 29, described the situation as “a crisis on top of a crisis. ”About 5 million people already face emergency levels of food insecurity in eastern DRC. In the 48 health zones affected by Ebola alone, 2. 7 million people face acute hunger, including 628,000 facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. In Ituri, 1. 9 million people are affected. The outbreak is disrupting markets and supply routes, making food harder to obtain in areas already weakened by years of armed conflict. Since the outbreak began, the WFP has distributed more than 160,000 hot meals to patients, contacts and front-line workers at 17 treatment and isolation centers. Uganda Declares Ebola Outbreak Over but Remains Vigilant at BorderUganda, meanwhile, officially declared its Ebola outbreak over on July 29 after recording no new cases for 42 days. The countdown began after the last confirmed patient recovered and was discharged from the hospital on June 16. The country recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, including 15 cases imported from the DRC and five locally transmitted cases among health workers. All 836 identified contacts were monitored for the full surveillance period. Uganda nevertheless remains on high alert along its border with the DRC. The two countries have signed a memorandum of understanding on a joint cross-border response. Uganda has also installed two mobile laboratories and two 80-bed Ebola treatment units in Aru and Kasenyi in northeastern DRC to support containment efforts inside the country. Sudan: Cholera Spreads to Four States as War Deepens Health System CollapseIn the Horn of Africa, the cholera outbreak declared in Sudan in late June 2026 continues to spread. As of July 10, the World Health Organization had recorded at least 1,330 cases and 114 deaths, with the outbreak reaching four states: West Kordofan, North Kordofan, South Darfur and Khartoum. In Tawila, North Darfur, more than 1,500 suspected and confirmed cases have been recorded since June. According to the Sudan Doctors Network, more than 200,000 people in the Bara area, including 20,000 children, face a health crisis involving cholera, measles and shortages of medicine. Sudan’s broader humanitarian emergency is worsening the outbreak. Forty percent of the country’s health facilities are out of service, the WHO reportedly has only one-third of the funding needed for its operations, and 33 million people require humanitarian assistance. “El-Obeid could become a new epicenter of the humanitarian crisis,” the U. N. health agency said, citing fighting that is obstructing access to health care in the city. HIV in Africa: Declining External Funding Threatens Decades of ProgressCuts in external funding are threatening Africa’s response to HIV and other diseases. Since January 2025, the Trump administration has abruptly shut down PEPFAR and USAID programs serving Africa. PEPFAR’s budget stood at $5. 85 billion in 2025 and is expected to fall to $2. 9 billion in 2026, according to estimates presented at the 2026 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, or CROI. A Massachusetts General Hospital model estimates that eliminating PEPFAR entirely would result in an additional 570,000 new infections in South Africa by 2034. South Africa previously received more than $400 million a year through PEPFAR and USAID programs. Civil society organizations confirmed in June 2026 that adolescent girls and women were among the vulnerable groups first affected by the cuts. At the same time, the Global Fund has raised just over $11 billion of the $18 billion sought for its current cycle, with significant declines in German and French contributions. According to UNAIDS, 28 African countries now spend more on debt repayments than on health. The consequences would also be severe in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal, where PEPFAR accounts for 40% to 60% of national HIV budgets. The cuts come as the domestically funded share of Africa’s HIV response rose from 28% in 2010 to 52% in 2024, but that increase remains insufficient to offset the loss of external funding. “These decisions come after more than two decades of success in reducing HIV-related mortality worldwide,” researcher David Paltiel said at CROI 2026, adding that their consequences “would far outweigh the short-term budgetary savings. ”Asymptomatic Tuberculosis: University of Cape Town Study Identifies Two Biologically Distinct SubtypesResearchers from the University of Cape Town, working through the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, or SATVI, have found that asymptomatic tuberculosis comprises two biologically distinct subtypes, raising questions about current screening strategies. The first subtype has a high bacterial load, significant radiological abnormalities and an inflammatory profile similar to that seen in symptomatic cases. The second subtype more closely resembles an early-stage or controlled infection. The two subtypes can be distinguished by analyzing gene expression in blood. The study, published inNature Communications, also found that current diagnostic tools, which were designed for symptomatic patients, perform poorly in detecting asymptomatic forms. When calibrated to 90% sensitivity, existing transcriptomic signatures achieve specificity of only 50%, below the WHO’s minimum recommendations for screening tests. The findings are particularly important for South Africa, where more than half of tuberculosis cases are asymptomatic. Some patients have enough bacteria to contribute to transmission even though they do not have a cough. “If we cannot effectively detect asymptomatic TB in communities, we cannot hope to control transmission at the population level,” said Professor Thomas Scriba, the study’s corresponding author. Ghana: Pandemic Fund Holds First Annual Review of One Health ProjectDuring its first year, the One Health project financed by the Pandemic Fund trained more than 200 human and animal health workers in surveillance techniques, developed training materials for health emergency preparedness and improved the accuracy of laboratory diagnostics in Ghana. Those results were presented in Accra on July 30 during the project’s first annual review. The meeting brought together the Ghana Health Service, the Veterinary Services Directorate, the WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization and other partners to assess efforts to strengthen laboratory capacity, epidemiological surveillance, early-warning systems and health workforce training. “This review has given us the opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved over the past year, identify where improvements are needed, and collectively chart the way forward,” said Dr. Caroline Reindorf Amissah, deputy director-general of the Ghana Health Service. Burkina Faso: WHO Reports Progress on Malaria, Antimicrobial Resistance and Tobacco ControlThe WHO office in Burkina Faso published its bulletin for the second quarter of 2026 in July. The country recorded a 32% decline in malaria cases in 2025, from 10. 8 million in 2024 to 7. 3 million. Malaria deaths fell by 44%, with 1,544 fewer deaths recorded. The 2026 seasonal malaria chemoprevention campaign, known as SMC+, was launched with a target of nearly 5 million children aged 3 months to 5 years over five rounds. The 2026-2030 National Health Development Strategy was approved with WHO support. Burkina Faso also hosted its second national symposium on antimicrobial resistance from May 28 to May 30, with a focus on how indigenous knowledge could contribute to the response. On tobacco control, a draft order introducing plain packaging for tobacco products was approved. Tobacco causes about 4,800 deaths annually in the country, where prevalence stands at 13. 6%. The 18th cohort of the Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Program certified 25 new field epidemiologists, bringing the number of workers trained since 2016 to 523. Ayi Renaud Dossavi