Ramaphosa Warns Africa: Ebola Outbreaks Expose Dangerous Health Security Gaps

June 26, 2026 4 min read

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that recurring Ebola outbreaks across Africa expose critical weaknesses in the continent's health security infrastructure, calling for urgent coordinated action to prevent future pandemics. The remarks came as health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo continued battling flare-ups of the deadly virus in eastern provinces.

Ramaphosa's Warning on Continental Health Readiness

Speaking at a regional health summit, Ramaphosa emphasised that Africa's experience with Ebola over the past decade should serve as a stark lesson. "We cannot afford to be caught unprepared again," he stated, pointing to gaps in surveillance, rapid response capabilities, and cross-border coordination that have hindered containment efforts. The South African leader urged fellow heads of state to treat health security as a matter of national priority, not merely a technical issue for ministries to handle in isolation.

Ramaphosa specifically referenced the challenges faced in remote areas where the virus has re-emerged, noting that weak health systems in rural zones create conditions for outbreaks to spread undetected. His comments reflect growing concern among African Union members about the continent's vulnerability to epidemic threats.

Ongoing Outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The eastern DRC remains the epicentre of active transmission, with cases confirmed in and around Mongbwalu, a town in Ituri Province. Local health officials at the General Referral Hospital have been leading front-line response efforts, treating patients while implementing isolation protocols. The facility, which serves a population of several hundred thousand, has faced strain as case numbers fluctuate.

Health authorities in the DRC have recorded new infections over the past several weeks, though official figures show the total remains lower than during the massive 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people. Still, officials caution that any resurgence carries risks, particularly given the dense population centres nearby and the movement of people across porous borders with Uganda and South Sudan.

Challenges Facing Local Health Workers

Staff at the General Referral Hospital describe shortages of protective equipment and delays in receiving test results from distant laboratories. Community mistrust has also complicated contact-tracing efforts, with some residents initially refusing to report symptoms or cooperate with responders. International aid organisations have deployed teams to support the hospital, but on-the-ground conditions remain demanding.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Mpona, a provincial health director, told local media that sustained funding and political commitment are essential to ending the current transmission chain. "Communities here have suffered through multiple outbreaks," he noted. "They need to see real investment, not just promises when headlines fade."

Broader Implications for African Health Systems

The timing of Ramaphosa's remarks coincides with renewed attention on pandemic preparedness following the COVID-19 disruption. African nations largely fared worse in securing vaccines during the early stages of that crisis, a failure many leaders have pledged not to repeat. Health ministers gathered at the summit discussed proposals for a continental stockpile of medical supplies and a faster mechanism for sharing laboratory capacity across borders.

Financing remains a central obstacle. African countries collectively spend less on health per capita than most other world regions, and many rely heavily on external donors for outbreak response. Ramaphosa called for increased domestic budget allocations, arguing that dependence on foreign funding creates dangerous delays when emergencies strike.

Cross-Border Coordination Efforts

Borders in the Great Lakes region see massive daily movement of traders, truck drivers, and migrants, making epidemic control a transnational challenge. Uganda and Rwanda have both strengthened screening at entry points in recent months, but officials acknowledge that monitoring every crossing point is impractical. Intelligence-sharing between national disease surveillance centres has improved, yet communication gaps persist during active outbreaks.

The African Union's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has facilitated joint response training for rapid-response teams from multiple countries. These exercises aim to standardise protocols and ensure that when one nation detects an outbreak, neighbours can mobilize assistance within days rather than weeks.

What Comes Next

African Union officials expect a framework document on strengthening health security to be presented for endorsement at the next heads of state summit. That agreement would commit member states to specific benchmarks, including minimum laboratory coverage, emergency fund reserves, and mandatory reporting timelines for disease alerts. Implementation, however, will depend on political will and consistent funding over several years.

Watch for the DRC situation in the coming weeks. Health workers are aiming to contain the current cluster before seasonal rains complicate travel to remote villages. International partners have pledged additional support, but whether that translates into faster deployment on the ground will determine whether this outbreak burns out or spreads further across the region.