Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, Aug. 7, 2025. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the Ebola situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), but is not a pandemic emergency.

GENEVA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The risk of the Ebola epidemic is "high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level," and the situation is not a "pandemic emergency," the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that a WHO Emergency Committee met on Tuesday and agreed with his earlier assessment that the Ebola situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), but is not a pandemic emergency.

Tedros early on Sunday declared the PHEIC for the Ebola outbreak in the two countries, marking the first time a WHO chief had done so without first convening an Emergency Committee.

So far, 51 cases have been confirmed in the northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu of the DRC, said Tedros, adding that the scale of the epidemic in the DRC is much larger.

Local residents wash hands under the instruction of medical workers in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on May 19, 2026. Around 131 suspected deaths and 513 suspected cases have been reported in the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba said Tuesday. (Str/Xinhua)

Uganda has also informed WHO of two confirmed cases in the capital Kampala, including one death, among two individuals who traveled from the DRC to Uganda, he said, adding that a U.S. national working in the DRC has also been confirmed positive.

Beyond the confirmed cases, there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths, said Tedros.

He said the WHO expects the numbers to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected.

Tedros said that it was urgent to act immediately to prevent more deaths and mobilize an effective and international response.

The WHO has deployed people, supplies, equipment and funds to support national authorities to respond, he said.

Roger Kamba, Health Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), speaks at a press briefing on the Ebola outbreak in Kinshasa, DRC capital, on May 19, 2026. During a media briefing on Tuesday, DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba said that 543 suspected cases were recorded, including 32 laboratory-confirmed cases, while the death toll reached 136. (Str/Xinhua)

The WHO chief said he has approved an additional 3.4 million U.S. dollars from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies, bringing the total to 3.9 million U.S. dollars.