Health
WHO raises Ebola risk level as DRC outbreak worsens, reports new hantavirus cases
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.
READ ALSO: WHO honours six global health champions at World Health Assembly
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 immediate past chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State chapter, Babajide Saheed, has challenged the interpretation of figures showing that Lagos recorded 10,430 new HIV cases in 2025, arguing that the data reflects routine HIV testing rather than newly diagnosed infections.
Mr Saheed made the clarification on Channels Television during The Morning Brief show on Wednesday while reacting to figures from the ”State of the Health of the Nation Report 2025,” which have sparked widespread discussion on social media.
The report indicates that Lagos recorded 10,430 new HIV cases in 2025, the highest among Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and higher than the combined figures for Kaduna, Adamawa and the FCT.
During the programme, the television anchors questioned why Lagos continued to record such high numbers despite years of HIV awareness campaigns and prevention efforts.
Interpretation
Responding, Mr Saheed said the figures should not be interpreted as newly diagnosed HIV infections.
According to him, the numbers largely represent HIV positivity from routine testing carried out among people already receiving treatment, alongside newly diagnosed cases.
“It is routine testing,” he said repeatedly during the interview, urging viewers to refer to the clarification issued by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).
He explained that people living with HIV routinely undergo tests while receiving antiretroviral treatment, and those results are captured in health records.
However, despite disagreeing with the interpretation of the figures, Mr Saheed acknowledged that Lagos continues to bear a significant HIV burden.
He described the situation as “a red flag”, noting that Lagos, alongside states such as Rivers and Benue, has consistently recorded high HIV numbers over the years.
Factors driving the trend
Mr Saheed attributed the trend to a combination of reduced international donor funding, economic hardship and challenges accessing HIV treatment.
He said funding cuts by international partners, coupled with Nigeria’s economic situation, may have contributed to disruptions in HIV services.
“If people cannot afford to feed themselves, how can they afford transportation to the hospital?” he said.
He urged the federal government to increase domestic funding for HIV programmes, invest in local production of antiretroviral medicines, strengthen public awareness campaigns and decentralise HIV treatment to primary healthcare centres and private facilities.
Mr Saheed also called for intensified public education on HIV prevention, including condom use, abstinence and early testing, particularly among young people and women, whom he identified among the groups most affected.
PREMIUM TIMES review
A review of the 2025 Final State of the Health of the Nation Report, produced by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, confirmed that Lagos recorded 10,430 new HIV cases in 2025, down from 14,622 in 2024.
The report also shows that Lagos recorded the highest number of reported new HIV cases among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Further review of the data shows that, aside from Lagos, the highest figures were recorded in Rivers (6,287), Kano (6,010), Akwa Ibom (5,413), Taraba (4,854), Benue (4,804), Anambra (4,468) and Kaduna (3,699).
Other states
The report revealed that other states recorded comparatively lower figures, including Adamawa (2,989), Bauchi (2,736), FCT (2,764), Sokoto (2,592), Abia (2,546), Cross River (2,545), Imo (2,539), Delta (2,469), Nasarawa (2,410), Borno (2,311), Zamfara (2,134), Ogun (2,107), Plateau (2,084), Niger (2,020), Ebonyi (2,015), Oyo (1,910), Jigawa (1,776), Kogi (1,752), Ondo (1,622), Edo (1,619), Kebbi (1,572), Katsina (1,541), Yobe (1,483), Enugu (1,479), Kwara (1,371), Osun (1,093), Gombe (1,083), Bayelsa (982) and Ekiti (462).
READ ALSO: US HIV funding withdrawal from South Africa could cost lives, UNAIDS warns
The report also shows that Ekiti recorded the lowest figure nationwide, followed by Bayelsa, Gombe, Osun, Kwara, Enugu and Yobe, while Lagos, Rivers, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Taraba and Benue recorded the highest numbers.
NACA’s earlier clarification
In April, NACA cautioned against interpreting similar state-by-state HIV figures as representing the actual burden of the disease, saying they had been taken out of context.
The agency explained that the figures reflected HIV positivity from routine testing conducted in health facilities and should not be used to estimate HIV prevalence or incidence or rank states by disease burden. It said such data are influenced by factors including population size, testing coverage and reporting practices.
NACA also warned that HIV data should only be generated, interpreted, and disseminated by authorised government health institutions, in line with established protocols, to avoid misleading the public.
Nigeria has launched its first public-facing Mental Health Policy Commitment Tracker, a digital platform designed to independently monitor implementation of the country’s mental health laws and policies amid concerns over slow progress in carrying out key reforms.
Developed by advocacy organisation Nigerian Mental Health (NMH), the tracker was officially launched virtually on Monday after an initial public unveiling in May.
NMH announced the launch in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES.
According to the organisation, the platform enables policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations and members of the public to monitor progress on commitments under the National Mental Health Act and related policies, including mental health financing, workforce development, treatment access and state-level reforms.
Why the tracker matters
Late President Muhammadu Buhari signed the National Mental Health Bill into law in January 2023 after two failed legislative attempts dating back to 2003.
The legislation replaced the outdated Lunacy Act and marked a major shift in Nigeria’s approach to mental healthcare by strengthening the rights of people living with mental health conditions and providing for institutions such as a Department of Mental Health Services and a Mental Health Fund.
However, more than three years later, implementation of several provisions of the law has remained slow.
According to NMH, key institutional structures required under the Act, including the Department of Mental Health, have yet to be fully established.
The organisation also said the federal government missed its December 2025 target to fully decriminalise attempted suicide, while implementation of the 2023 National Mental Health Policy and the country’s first Suicide Prevention Policy Framework has been limited.
It said these implementation gaps informed the development of the tracker, which is intended to independently verify whether mental health commitments are being translated into concrete action.
Speaking at the launch, NMH founder Chime Asonye said policy commitments should be accompanied by measurable implementation.
“Visibility must be matched by measurable execution,” he said, adding that the platform is designed to ensure commitments lead to tangible legal, institutional and service delivery outcomes.
According to NMH, the tracker serves as a public dashboard that aggregates government data, legislative updates, budget documents, verified stakeholder submissions and community-reported evidence.
Each policy commitment is assigned an implementation status, such as “Not Started, In Progress, Delayed or Completed”, allowing users to monitor progress across the federal and state levels.
The platform tracks regulatory milestones under the National Mental Health Act, as well as governance structures, budget allocations, workforce capacity, access to treatment, affordability and broader rights-based reforms.
Stakeholders back initiative
The launch brought together government officials, policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations, development partners, media practitioners and representatives of the creative industry.
Among the organisations supporting the initiative are Lagos Mind, Mind Over Matters NG, Stilt NG, Our Beta Life, the Mental Health Transformation Organisation (MHT) and Hevolve Foundation.
Mental health advocate and musician Hadiza Blell-Olo, popularly known as Di’ja, urged public figures to move beyond raising awareness by supporting partnerships that strengthen mental health reforms, noting that the tracker provides a framework for improving policy accountability.
Also speaking, the National Mental Health Coordinator at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Tunde Ojo, said independent accountability mechanisms can help strengthen implementation and improve service delivery.
NMH said the platform is open to policymakers, practitioners, researchers and members of the public, who can submit verified implementation updates and feedback to improve transparency and support mental health reforms across the country.
-
News4 days agoFord rehires ‘gray beard’ engineers after AI falls short
-
Health3 days ago
Only one in four men has optimal semen quality, fertility expert says
-
News3 days ago
IFAF Commends NSC’s Transparency, Confirms NFAF Recognition as Dikko, Olopade’s Vision Earns Global Backing
-
News3 days ago
PLABOMA Mobilises Youths, Digital Creators Ahead of 2026 World Social Media Day Celebration in Jos
