World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged countries to rethink travel bans and border closures introduced in response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda after arriving in Bunia.
Speaking in Bunia, the center of the outbreak in eastern DRC, he warned that such restrictions could make it harder to control the disease and may reduce public trust and openness during the response.
Tedros stressed that cooperation and transparency are vital to saving lives. He said border closures can discourage people from reporting cases and seeking medical help. He also noted that patients can recover from Ebola if they receive proper medical care quickly, even though there are no fully approved vaccines or specific treatments available.
The WHO chief said his visit to Bunia was meant to engage directly with communities affected by the outbreak. More than 1,000 suspected Ebola cases have been reported so far.
In neighboring Uganda, health officials recently confirmed two new cases in the capital, Kampala, bringing the country's total number of confirmed infections to nine.
DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba said authorities hope to bring the outbreak under control within four to six months. He said the immediate goal is to stop the virus from spreading beyond the three affected provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu.
Kamba also highlighted improvements in the country's testing capacity. Around 900 samples have been examined, with about 260 testing positive for Ebola. He said laboratories can now process all incoming samples without delays, even if the number of daily tests increases significantly.
