Good afternoon to those in the room, and good morning, good afternoon and good evening to those online, wherever you are in the world.
We begin with the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It’s encouraging to see that since the outbreak was first reported five weeks ago, the response has scaled up significantly, under the leadership of the government.
In the past five weeks, the number of treatment beds has increased from less than 10 to over 500 in 19 health centres.
With support from WHO and the Africa CDC, laboratory capacity has increased from 30 tests a day at the central laboratory in Kinshasa to over 2000 tests a day in nine labs across three provinces.
More communities are becoming aware of the risks of Ebola, and asking for the tools and support to protect themselves.
And more than 100 people have now recovered. With early detection and supportive care, many can survive this disease.
But we could save many more lives with therapeutics.
Preparations are now complete for a trial of two therapeutics that is expected to start in DRC next week.
The trial will evaluate whether two antivirals, MBP134 and remdesivir, can help to reduce mortality in patients with Bundibugyo virus disease, alone or in combination.
We thank the United States and Gilead Sciences for donating doses for the trial. Together with our partners we will announce more information next week.
WHO and our partners are working closely with the communities to inform and involve them in the trial.
We are also working to ensure the communities have access to the therapeutics should they prove safe and efficacious.
The trial will be conducted by a consortium of partners including DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, ALIMA, Oxford University and WHO.
Despite the good progress we have made, we still face major challenges, and the outbreak is continuing to outpace the response.
There are now 1094 confirmed cases, with 277 deaths.
The outbreak is continuing to move fast.
Political advocacy and action are essential to create the conditions for increased humanitarian access and a scaled-up response, because the outbreak is happening in a complex situation.
In neighbouring Uganda, a new case was reported last Sunday, the first in two weeks.
This brings the total in Uganda to 20 confirmed cases, with two confirmed deaths.
All cases in Uganda are linked to the outbreak in DRC.
Today, France reported that a health worker with the NGO ALIMA, who returned to the country after caring for an Ebola patient in DRC, tested positive for the virus, and is now being monitored and receiving care.
This case is a reminder of the risks faced by frontline responders.
Almost 80 health workers have been infected, highlighting the risks they face and the importance of strengthening infection prevention and control.
WHO advises countries to support the safe deployment of personnel responding to this outbreak.
This includes ensuring that organizations deploying staff provide clear information on risks, how to reduce and manage the risk of exposure, and that countries are prepared to facilitate evacuation if needed.
Still, the risk to the rest of the world remains low.
Under the government’s leadership, the coordinated response to the outbreak is starting to take hold.
But continued scale up is needed.
Contact tracing is still not at the level needed;
Capacity at treatment and isolation centres is insufficient;
Safe and dignified burials remain a major challenge;
The health system is under pressure;
Border closures continue to hinder the response;
Multiple security incidents have been reported;
The affected area is in the grip of a decades-long humanitarian crisis;
And financial support is still insufficient.
Earlier this month, WHO and the Africa CDC announced a joint Continental Preparedness and Response Plan that reflects the funding needs of partners, with an ask of 518 million U.S. dollars.
Next week, the first financial reporting on pledges and commitments to the plan are expected to be available, providing a clear understanding of gaps and needs.
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Now to the outbreak of hantavirus.
The total number of cases from the hantavirus outbreak remains 13, including three deaths.
In all, more than 650 contacts have been identified and followed up by local health authorities in 33 countries and territories.
All but 54 contacts have completed their period of quarantine, and the remaining contacts are scheduled to complete their quarantine period by the 2nd of July.
If no further cases are reported by then, WHO will consider the outbreak to be over.
However, WHO will continue working to advance our understanding of this outbreak, and hantavirus more generally.
Working with governments and partners, we are continuing investigations into how the outbreak started and spread among those on board.
We are also working with partners who have collected environmental samples onboard the ship.
In addition, we are coordinating a study among people exposed to the virus involving 21 countries, to better understand how the disease develops.
We are also working on having a sample of the virus shared with the WHO BioHub in Switzerland.
This will be important for developing diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for future outbreaks.
I thank all countries that have contributed in different ways to the response to this outbreak, with special thanks to the leadership and solidarity shown by Spain, especially to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
I also thank the Captain of the MV Hondius, Captain Jan Dobrogowski, his crew and all passengers for their cooperation in what has been a very difficult situation.
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Source:
Link: https://www.who.int/news-room/speeches/item/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing---24-june-2026
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