The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised the risk level of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to “very high” nationally as suspected cases approach 750, with the disease already spreading across borders into Uganda.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus announced the updated assessment on Friday during a Member State information session on the Ebola outbreak and a separate hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius.

According to the WHO, DRC has recorded 82 confirmed Ebola cases so far.

However, the agency said the outbreak is likely far larger, with nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths already reported.

“In Uganda, two cases have been confirmed in people who travelled from DRC, with one death,” Mr Ghebreyesus said.

Mr Ghebreyesus noted that the organisation previously assessed the outbreak risk as high nationally and regionally, and low globally, but has now revised it to “very high” at the national level, “high” regionally and “low” globally.

No approved vaccines

WHO said the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, unlike previous outbreaks driven by the Zaire strain.

The agency explained that there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo virus, making containment more difficult.

WHO also noted that commonly used Ebola diagnostic tests designed for the Zaire strain do not detect the Bundibugyo strain effectively, contributing to delays in identifying the outbreak.

“There have only been two previous outbreaks of Bundibugyo, in Uganda in 2007 and DRC in 2012,” Mr Ghebreyesus said.

Conflict worsening outbreak

The organisation warned that insecurity in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu is further complicating response efforts.

According to the WHO, intensified fighting in recent months has displaced more than 100,000 people, while about four million people in the affected areas require urgent humanitarian assistance.

The agency also said approximately 10 million people are facing acute hunger.

Mr Ghebreyesus disclosed that a hospital in Ituri was attacked on Thursday, with tents and medical supplies set on fire.

“Building trust in the affected communities is critical to a successful response,” he said.

WHO said it has deployed 22 international staff to support response operations and released $3.9 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies.

Hantavirus deaths

Meanwhile, the WHO said the hantavirus outbreak linked to passengers and crew aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has now recorded 12 cases and three deaths.

The latest confirmed case involved a crew member who disembarked in Tenerife and was later repatriated to the Netherlands, where the individual remains in isolation.

WHO noted that no additional deaths have been reported since 2 May, when the outbreak was first reported.

The agency said more than 600 contacts across 30 countries are still being monitored, while efforts continue to trace a small number of high-risk contacts.

Countries supporting the response include Argentina, Cabo Verde, Chile, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom.

No Ebola in Nigeria

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said the country has recorded no confirmed Ebola case linked to the ongoing outbreak in Central and East Africa.

The agency said the country remains on heightened alert and has strengthened surveillance at points of entry, including airports, seaports and land borders, to prevent importation of the virus.

The health body also warned against misinformation circulating on social media suggesting that Ebola cases had been detected in Nigeria, describing such claims as false and capable of causing unnecessary panic.

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Following the outbreak declaration, authorities said surveillance systems at points of entry had been strengthened, while emergency response mechanisms were being reviewed to improve readiness.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) also announced additional health screening measures and enhanced Ebola surveillance across international airports.

The measures include heightened passenger monitoring, screening protocols, and coordination with health authorities to detect and respond swiftly to suspected cases.

The Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, has defended the foreign engagement strategy of President Bola Tinubu, describing recent criticisms by the former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, as a “populist simplification” of Nigeria’s economic realities.

Mr Yakubu, in an article titled “Foreign Engagements and the Dangers of Populist Simplification: Peter Obi’s Ignorance,” argued that Mr Obi failed to appreciate the complexities involved in rebuilding investor confidence and restoring economic stability in a country emerging from fiscal and monetary challenges.

On 16 May, Mr Obi criticised the value of recent foreign state visits by Nigerian leaders, arguing that such engagements must translate into measurable economic benefits for citizens, rather than ceremonial visits.

“State visits by leaders are not tourism, and diplomacy is not a fashion parade,” Mr Obi said.

According to Mr Yakubu, the Tinubu-led administration inherited an economy burdened by structural weaknesses, including fuel subsidy costs, exchange-rate distortions, mounting debt-service obligations, dwindling investor confidence, and heavy reliance on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) financing to sustain government operations.

The Budget Office DG said under such conditions, international engagements should not be viewed as ceremonial trips but as strategic efforts aimed at rebuilding sovereign credibility, strengthening diplomatic relations, restoring investor confidence, and attracting long-term capital.

Mr Yakubu said the former Anambra state governor oversimplifies economic realities, which has a tendency to reduce complex questions of economic recovery.

“No serious analyst disputes that foreign engagements should ultimately produce measurable economic outcomes. The real issue, however, is whether Mr. Obi properly understands the sequence through which nations emerging from fiscal and monetary instability rebuild investor confidence, restore credibility, and reposition themselves within global capital markets.

“President Tinubu inherited an economy facing severe structural stress: an unsustainable fuel subsidy regime, multiple exchange-rate distortions, collapsing fiscal buffers, mounting debt-service pressures, dwindling investor confidence, and unprecedented dependence on Ways and Means financing simply to sustain government operations.

“Under such circumstances, international engagements are not mere ceremonial excursions; they become instruments for rebuilding sovereign credibility, restoring policy confidence, reassuring investors, strengthening diplomatic alignments, attracting long-term capital, and repositioning the country within regional and global economic networks,” Mr Yakubu said.

Economic comparison

He also faulted Mr Obi’s comparison of Nigeria’s economic situation with that of the United States under former President Donald Trump, saying the two countries operate under entirely different economic realities.

According to him, the United States engages China from the position of the world’s dominant reserve currency issuer, also as the largest consumer market on earth, and a mature industrial economy with deep capital markets and global technological dominance.

In contrast, the director general said Nigeria is a reforming emerging economy attempting to stabilize itself after years of fiscal distortion and policy disequilibrium.

Mr Yakubu further argued that the benefits of international engagements often take time to materialise, stressing that major investments, infrastructure partnerships, and sovereign financing commitments usually emerge gradually after sustained diplomatic and economic engagement.

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He described it as contradictory for critics to oppose reforms such as fuel subsidy removal and exchange-rate unification while simultaneously demanding immediate foreign investment inflows.

Mr Yakubu said its is inconsistent to oppose stabilization reforms on one hand while simultaneously demanding the investment confidence that only such reforms can eventually produce.

“More importantly, many of the benefits of state engagements do not materialize instantly in the form of dramatic headline announcements. Serious investments, infrastructure partnerships, manufacturing relocations, energy financing arrangements, and sovereign investment commitments often emerge gradually after sustained diplomatic engagement, policy stabilization, and investor confidence-building.

“Ironically, many of the same critics now demanding immediate investment inflows were among those who opposed the difficult stabilization reforms, including fuel subsidy removal and exchange-rate unification, that were necessary to restore the macroeconomic credibility investors require before committing long-term capital,” he said.

He extolled the administration and CBN’s achievements in stabilising the economy with reforms, and that Nigeria was approaching a dangerous fiscal cliff before the administration’s intervention.

“Diplomacy should indeed generate economic value. But rebuilding a damaged economy requires more than slogans, photo comparisons, or selective foreign analogies.

“It requires difficult decisions, international re-engagement, policy credibility, institutional stabilization, and the patience necessary for long-term economic restructuring to take root,” Mr Yakubu said.