Africa CDC and WHO Launch Unified Ebola Response Platform to Strengthen Africa’s Disease Control Efforts
Joint Incident Management Team to Coordinate Cross-Border Response as Ebola Outbreak Intensifies in Central Africa
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Government of Uganda have officially launched a unified continental platform aimed at strengthening Africa’s response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
The newly established Joint Continental Incident Management Support Team (IMST) will serve as a centralized operational hub for coordinating emergency response activities across affected and at-risk countries. The platform is designed to improve preparedness, surveillance, technical coordination, and rapid deployment of resources as the Ebola outbreak continues to threaten regional health security.
The initiative was launched at Makerere University in Kampala, where health officials emphasized that the new coordination mechanism will support Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and neighboring countries through integrated technical assistance, multidisciplinary expertise, and real-time operational management.
According to Africa CDC, the unified platform represents a major milestone in building a stronger continental public health emergency architecture. Officials said the IMST reflects a shared commitment by Africa CDC, WHO, the African Union, and member states to ensure faster, better-coordinated, and country-led responses to increasingly complex disease outbreaks.
The platform will primarily support the response to the ongoing Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus disease, while also strengthening Africa’s long-term capacity to prepare for future public health emergencies. Its responsibilities include disease surveillance, laboratory coordination, infection prevention and control, case management, logistics, community engagement, and cross-border collaboration.
The launch comes as health authorities continue battling one of the most significant Ebola outbreaks in recent years. The Democratic Republic of the Congo remains the epicenter of the outbreak, while Uganda has also reported confirmed infections, raising concerns over regional transmission. International health agencies have warned that humanitarian challenges, population displacement, and insecurity in conflict-affected areas are complicating containment efforts.
Earlier this month, Africa CDC and WHO unveiled a continent-wide preparedness and response strategy under the “One Response” framework, initially seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in international funding. In recent days, Africa CDC revised its funding requirements significantly higher, citing the expanding scale of the outbreak and the need for broader humanitarian support.
Health experts believe that the creation of a single continental command structure will reduce duplication of efforts, improve information sharing, accelerate resource deployment, and enable faster decision-making during health emergencies. The model is also expected to strengthen collaboration between governments, international organizations, and regional partners.
Officials stressed that rapid detection, community participation, transparent communication, and coordinated international support remain essential to preventing further spread of the virus. They called on governments, donors, and global health partners to sustain financial and technical assistance as response operations continue across affected regions.
The establishment of the Joint Continental Incident Management Support Team marks an important step toward creating a more resilient African public health system capable of responding quickly and effectively to future infectious disease threats while reinforcing regional cooperation against one of the world’s deadliest viruses.
