Newsletter

Newsletter

The Bundibugyo Ebola Outbreak

Two children of an American Ebola patient look through a window at their father in the isolation ward, at the Charite hospital in Berlin, Germany, on May 21, 2026.
Governance

Ebola Recalls Why the U.S. Needs a Foreign Health Service

by Matthew D. Brown

The Trump administration is right that U.S. health diplomacy needs stronger leadership, but turning the CDC into a vendor is the wrong path

A map titled "Where the 2026 Ebola Outbreak is Spreading" shows confirmed and suspected cases of Bundibugyo virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda as of June 1, 2026. Affected regions are shaded in salmon/orange-red, and affected cities are marked with black dots. Ituri Province in northeastern DRC is labeled as having seen the most cases and is the largest highlighted region. Additional affected areas in DRC include militia-controlled Goma in North Kivu and areas near Bukavu in South Kivu. In Uganda, Kampala is marked as having confirmed nine cases. A small inset map shows the location of the outbreak region within the broader African continent. Source: Ministry of Health, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Governance

Charting Ebola Responses: How 2026 Stacks Up After Aid Cuts

by Stephanie Psaki, Anya Hirschfeld, Allison Krugman

An Ebola outbreak circulating undetected for weeks or months is a collective failure of global health security, regardless of cause

The regional supply chain lead for emergencies at the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Africa pastes stickers on shipment pallets that are being sent in response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 18, 2026.
Governance

The World Health Assembly Reacts to the Bundibugyo Ebola Outbreak

by Ebere Okereke

A Chatham House fellow reports from WHA79 about how the new Ebola emergency has advanced conversations about actionable health reform

A volunteer is guided through the full donning sequence for special pathogen personal protective equipment during a training seminar led by Syra Madad, chief biopreparedness officer for NYC Health + Hospitals, on February 2, 2026.
Governance

How NYC Practices for Ebola and Special Pathogen Outbreaks

by Syra Madad, David Silvestri

NYC Health + Hospitals has added virtual reality training to reinforce its readiness for high-consequence infectious diseases

Health workers in protective clothing confer behind barriers marking the isolation ward where victims Marburg virus are treated, in Uige, Angola, on April 20, 2005.
Governance

Why Every Country Needs a Public Health Agency

by Chikwe Ihekweazu, Garry Aslanyan

The WHO's executive director of health emergencies outlines why more countries are launching national public health agencies