Infectious disease outbreaks such as Ebola and hantavirus are becoming more frequent and damaging, according to experts, as health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda scramble to contain an Ebola outbreak. The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) released a report on Monday warning that pandemic risk is outpacing investments in preparedness, stating that “the world is not yet meaningfully safer.”
Growing Threats and Fragmented Response
The GPMB, established in 2018 by the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO) after the first large-scale Ebola outbreak in West Africa and before COVID-19, highlighted that disease outbreaks are becoming more likely due to the climate crisis and armed conflict. Collective action is being undermined by geopolitical fragmentation and commercial self-interest, the report said. The latest findings come amid global attention on a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship and a day after the declaration of an international public health emergency following at least 87 Ebola deaths in the DRC.
WHO and Aid Groups Respond
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the World Health Assembly in Geneva that the two outbreaks “are just the latest crises in our troubled world.” WHO’s representative in the DRC, Anne Ancia, said the organization had emptied its stocks of protective equipment in Kinshasa and was preparing a cargo plane to bring additional supplies from a depot in Kenya. The International Rescue Committee and Médecins Sans Frontières also reported deploying teams to respond to the outbreak.
Professor Matthew Kavanagh, director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Policy & Politics, said aid cuts may have left the world “playing catch-up against a very dangerous pathogen.” He noted that early tests looked for the wrong strain of Ebola, leading to false negatives and lost response time. “By the time the alarm was raised, the virus had already moved along major transport routes and crossed borders,” he said, adding that dismantling frontline USAID programmes gutted surveillance systems meant to catch viruses early.
Mixed Progress and Setbacks
The GPMB report acknowledges that new technologies, including mRNA vaccine platforms, have advanced at unprecedented speed, and billions of dollars have been invested in pandemic preparedness. However, the world is “moving backwards” on ensuring equitable access to vaccines, tests, and treatments. During recent mpox outbreaks, vaccines took almost two years to reach affected countries in Africa, slower than the 17 months for COVID-19 vaccines.
Outbreaks have damaged trust in government, civil liberties, and democratic norms, amplified by politicised responses and attacks on scientific institutions, the GPMB warned. These effects have outlasted the crises, leaving societies “less resilient to the next emergency.”
Call for Action
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, GPMB co-chair and former president of Croatia, said: “The world does not lack solutions. But without trust and equity, those solutions will not reach the people who need them most.” She urged political leaders, industry, and civil society to turn commitments into measurable progress before the next crisis strikes.
Countries failed to meet a deadline to finalise the pandemic agreement treaty before this week’s World Health Assembly, due to disagreements over guarantees of access to medical tests, vaccines, and treatments in exchange for sharing information on emerging pathogens. The GPMB called for a permanent, independent monitoring mechanism, concluding the pandemic agreement to ensure equitable access, and financing for preparedness and immediate responses.
Joy Phumaphi, GPMB co-chair and former health minister in Botswana, said: “If trust and cooperation continue to fracture, every country will be more exposed when the next pandemic strikes.”
