What are the symptoms of Bundibugyo virus disease? Here’s what you need to know. 👇🏿 @viralfacts #ViralFacts

Since April 2021, Espérance Katulamu has worked in @WFP_UNHAS ground operations, coordinating aircraft movements, liaising with check-in teams and flight crews, and helping ensure the safety of aircraft and passengers during arrivals and departures. The #Ebola response has intensified her workload, with more humanitarian flights, passengers and cargo to handle - including medicines, kits and other essential supplies. For Espérance, supporting their arrival is a tangible way of contributing to the fight against Ebola.

Integrated health services help bring quality care closer to communities. Dr Pierre Kariyo, Acting Team Lead for Integrated Service Delivery at @WHOAFRO, shares insights on primary health care, universal health coverage and the importance of coordinated, people-centred services.

African leaders, health ministers, regional institutions and global health partners adopted the New York Call to Action on Cross-Border Preparedness Intelligence in Africa, calling for stronger cross-border collaboration and the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen preparedness for infectious diseases that could cause public health emergencies. The Call to Action was adopted on 25 September 2026 in New York, during the Presidential Dialogue on High-Threat Pathogens, held on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly. #HealthSecurity

In an #Ebola response, every element must work together, from diagnostics and patient care to community engagement, leadership and coordination. When every part of the response is aligned, lives are saved, and the outbreak can be brought to an end.

This week in Dakar, @PasteurDakar hosted its first influenza sequencing and bioinformatics training since its recognition as a WHO Collaborating Centre. Supported by @WHOAFRO’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework, the training brought together laboratory professionals from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinea, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Togo. The training strengthens regional capacity to move beyond generating sequencing data to translating it into actionable public health intelligence for influenza surveillance, preparedness and response.

One meeting, many thoughts. Another day at #UNGA.

The #Ebola virus had a head start in the #DRC, and we are still playing catch-up. The response is growing stronger and we are seeing encouraging signs. But this epidemic is far from over. My update on the progress, challenges and what it will take to stop it ⬇️ #UNGA #SDGlive

Borders divide jurisdictions, but they do not divide risk. At #UNGA81, I was pleased to join leaders and partners at the Presidential Dialogue on High-Threat Pathogens. I spoke about the need to make preparedness a permanent part of national development and work together across borders. The New York Call to Action provides an important roadmap for putting this into practice. Preparedness must be built, sustained and funded, with standing arrangements that connect institutions and communities across borders and turn fragmented data into preparedness intelligence.

Rumours and mistrust can slow the #Ebola response. Tandishabo Baptiste, a parasocial worker, engages directly with families and communities to build trust. Working alongside surveillance and investigation teams, he supports dialogue when a patient needs to be referred to an Ebola Treatment Centre or when a family needs support to accept a safe and dignified burial. He says this community-based approach is gradually making a difference.

LIVE from #UNGA: Opening of the High Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response with @DrTedros nitter.net/i/broadcasts/1YGNrbqjk…

"Let us recognize that the disease exists, and that is already present and it has done harm to many people." -Sister Claudine Kasoki, Headteacher, Bungenye Primary School in Luofu, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo #DRC, where the children learned about #Ebola Bundibugyo disease at their morning assembly. When children learn health messages at school, they often share them with their families, and this is how awareness can spread throughout the community. WHO is working together with partners, the government and the communities to stop the outbreak.

Across the African Region, 178,000 women die each year from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, and one million newborns are lost. Most of these deaths can be prevented with care we already know how to provide. At the SHE RISES high-level side event at #UNGA81, we discussed women’s leadership in maternal and child health. Women must have a stronger voice where decisions are made, but representation alone will not save lives. Leadership must be matched by delivery. Political commitment must reach the facility where a woman gives birth, with skilled care, essential supplies and referral systems that work.

From #outbreak to #protection. In Zomba & Mulanje, #measles outbreaks have changed minds. Parents who once hesitated are now actively seeking #vaccination. When communities experience the risk, prevention becomes personal. #MeaslesVaccine #Malawi

Strong health systems and services are the foundation of better health for all. Dr @Ad_Onyango, Director of Health Systems and Services at @WHOAFRO, shares her insights on governance, country ownership, partnerships and the role of data in improving health outcomes across Africa.

🇨🇩 #DRC: In Bunia, Dr @MR_Belizaire, @WHOAFRO Emergency Director, met with James Swan, Head of @MONUSCO, to review the #Ebola situation in Ituri & discuss key response priorities. Strong coordination remains essential to protecting communities & bringing the outbreak under control.

Dr Diasy Lamine, an epidemiologist and WHO field coordinator, supports health authorities in coordinating #Ebola response operations. From surveillance and IPC to community engagement and logistics, he helps teams rapidly adapt the response to realities on the ground. Now responding to his fifth Ebola outbreak, seeing patients leave treatment centres recovered keeps him determined to carry on.

Today, on the sidelines of #UNGA81, WHO/AFRO’s @DrBenido and Dr @richamla met with Dr Mary-Margaret Pwamang, Apala Guhathakurta and Ben Ramirez of @BloombergDotOrg to discuss strengthening collaboration on lead poisoning prevention, cardiovascular health, civil registration and vital statistics, and regional preparedness. Discussions covered country-level implementation, regional frameworks, data and surveillance, and expanding WHO support to Member States.

Malaria remains one of Africa’s greatest public health challenges. The WHO African Region accounts for 94% of global malaria cases and 95% of deaths. At #UNGA81, I joined Heads of State and partners to call for a financing push to match the Big Push against Malaria. With stronger domestic investment, financing aligned with national priorities and action across sectors, we can put malaria elimination back within reach.

Join @WHOAFRO for a media training to strengthen AMR communication, draw on lessons from TB and HIV, and build storytelling skills ahead of World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) 2026. 📅 7 October 2026 | 11:00 AM Brazzaville (13:00 EAT) Featuring insights from GAMA, the WHO Task Force of AMR Survivors, and social media experts. Register on Zoom: shorturl.at/zR4nD Passcode: AMR@2026 English & French interpretation available WAAW 2026 theme: “One Health, one action: Prevent AMR now”