Ebola Crisis: WHO Rules Out Pandemic

(MENAFN) The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned that the Ebola outbreak sweeping the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda poses a "high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level" risk — while firmly ruling out pandemic status.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, addressing reporters, confirmed that an Emergency Committee convened Tuesday had backed his prior determination that the crisis constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) — but stressed the situation is not a "pandemic emergency."

The PHEIC designation, which Tedros issued Sunday, was itself unprecedented — marking the first time a WHO chief had invoked such a declaration without first consulting an Emergency Committee.

Ground-level figures paint a sobering picture. Tedros confirmed 51 cases across the DRC's northern Ituri and North Kivu provinces, cautioning that the true scale of the epidemic is considerably greater. Uganda's capital, Kampala, has recorded two confirmed cases — including one fatality — involving individuals who had traveled from the DRC. A U.S. national operating in the DRC has also tested positive.

The confirmed toll, however, may be the tip of the iceberg: nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths remain under investigation, said Tedros, who warned figures would continue climbing given how long the virus circulated undetected before discovery.

"It was urgent to act immediately to prevent more deaths and mobilize an effective and international response," Tedros said, as WHO personnel, equipment, supplies, and funding were deployed to bolster national authorities on the ground.

Financially, the WHO chief announced an additional $3.4 million disbursement from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies, lifting total emergency funding to $3.9 million.

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