Addis Ababa, 20 September 2026 – The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) welcomes the leadership of the United States in convening the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting on Accelerating Collective Action to Defeat Ebola, to be held on 23 September 2026 in New York, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly.
Africa CDC commends the United States for bringing together G20 members, additional donor countries, affected governments and international organizations to mobilise support, strengthen coordination and accelerate collective action to end the outbreak.
Africa CDC also welcomes the invitation from the United States to participate in this important meeting. At a time when Africa is advancing its Africa Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS) agenda, this engagement reinforces the central role of African institutions in leading sustainable responses to public health threats on the continent, with strong support from international partners.
Africa CDC will be represented by its Director General, H.E. Dr Jean Kaseya, bringing the public health priorities of the African Union’s 55 Member States and the voices of 1.5 billion Africans. As the African Union’s continental public health agency, Africa CDC will contribute its political and technical leadership and continental coordination mandate, complementing the African Union’s engagement as a permanent member of the G20.
Africa CDC welcomes the participation of the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Uganda’s participation is particularly valuable following the successful end of its Ebola outbreak on 27 August 2026. Their participation will help connect international commitments directly with national priorities, affected communities and frontline responders.
While investments by African countries and international partners are contributing to encouraging improvements in some affected areas, these gains must not obscure the seriousness of the situation. Transmission remains active, progress is uneven, and continued geographic expansion reinforces the risk of further spread. Gains in some parts of Ituri must be consolidated while response efforts intensify wherever transmission persists or increases. This is a moment to reinforce the response—not to relax it.
Following guidance from H.E. Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, during the meeting of 5 August 2026, Africa CDC is advancing a village-centred approach to the response—placing communities at the heart of action, rebuilding trust, strengthening early detection and helping break chains of transmission.
Africa CDC calls on all partners to turn solidarity into faster, transparent and accountable delivery. Through the Africa CDC Financial Tracking Mechanism, disbursements, expenditures, implementation locations and results must be clearly tracked so that governments can see where resources are going, identify gaps and direct additional financing to national priorities—while connecting public health and humanitarian action and keeping communities at the centre of implementation.
“Africa CDC thanks the United States for convening this critical meeting and every partner that has stood alongside Africa. Our shared responsibility now is to ensure that solidarity and any new financing pledged translates rapidly into disbursed resources and services at the frontline. We must be able to trace every dollar, from the donor through implementing partners to expenditure and results in affected communities. Governments must know what resources are supporting their response. We owe this transparency to affected families, to governments leading the response and to partners financing it. Transparency builds trust, accelerates delivery and saves lives.”
— H.E. Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General, Africa CDC
Africa CDC will continue working with affected governments, WHO, humanitarian organizations and all partners around one shared objective: to stop transmission, protect neighboring countries and end this outbreak.
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About Africa CDC
Africa CDC is the public health agency of the African Union. As an autonomous institution, Africa CDC supports AU Member States in strengthening health systems, improving disease surveillance, and enhancing emergency preparedness and response. For more information, visit: http://www.africacdc.org and follow Africa CDC on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and YouTube.
Media enquiries: Directorate of Communications and Public Information, Africa CDC | Email: communications@africacdc.org
