PRESS RELEASE: STATEMENT FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY FOR AIDS IN AFRICA (SAA) ON THE ONGOING EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO AND UGANDA
22 June 2026
PRESS RELEASE: STATEMENT FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY FOR AIDS IN AFRICA (SAA) ON THE ONGOING EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO AND UGANDA
Date: 22nd June 2026 EMBARGO: None (For immediate release)
The Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) expresses its concern regarding the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda and extends its solidarity to the affected communities, healthcare workers, public health professionals and researchers working tirelessly to contain the outbreak.
We welcome the World Health Organization’s declaration of the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), a critical step in mobilising international coordination, funding and response mechanisms to support affected countries and prevent further spread.
We commend the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, Africa CDC, the World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), humanitarian agencies and other international partners that are working around the clock to strengthen surveillance, support contact tracing, isolate confirmed cases, provide clinical care and engage communities. Their efforts are essential in limiting transmission and protecting lives.
We also urge all countries across Africa to remain vigilant and strengthen preparedness measures. Infectious disease outbreaks do not respect national borders, and effective containment depends on strong surveillance systems, rapid information sharing, coordinated response efforts and sustained public trust.
While Africa CDC continues to provide critical leadership in supporting Member States and coordinating continental public health responses, epidemic preparedness cannot rest solely on regional institutions. African Heads of State must individually and collectively prioritise investments in health security and establish stronger systems for epidemic and pandemic preparedness.
This includes strengthening disease surveillance, laboratory networks, healthcare workforce capacity, emergency response systems, infection prevention and control measures, research and innovation, and local manufacturing of diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics. These investments are not only health priorities but national development and security priorities.
The lessons from HIV/AIDS, Ebola, COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks have repeatedly demonstrated that preparedness saves lives, protects economies and strengthens resilience. Africa cannot afford to remain reactive. We must build sustainable systems capable of detecting, preventing and responding to public health threats before they become crises.
The Society for AIDS in Africa calls for greater collaboration among governments, regional bodies, international partners, researchers and communities to ensure that Africa is better prepared for future epidemics and pandemics.
The time to invest in preparedness is before the next outbreak, not during it.
Hon. Dr. Richard Nchabi Kamwi President Society for AIDS in Africa
For more information, please contact:
Luc Armand H. Bodea ICASA Director/SAA Coordinator Email: lucbodea@saafrica.org Permanent Secretariat, Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) Website: www.saafrica.org Office Direct: (+233)(0) 303 936 814 Mobile (+233) (0) 543 748 781 Email: info@saafrica.org Accra- Ghana
The Society for AIDS in Africa was founded in 1989 at the fourth International Symposium on AIDS and Associated Cancers in Africa (now ICASA) held in Marseille France by a group of African scientists, activists, and advocates in response to the HIV epidemic. The establishment of the Society was the effect of the agitations of some African scientists for the conference to be organized on African soil. These agitations began in the preceding year at the third meeting held in Arusha, Tanzania in 1988. The cause of these scientists was supported by the then Director of WHO, Dr. Peter Piot.
At the 1990 conference held in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an Executive Committee was inaugurated to oversee the establishment of the Society and to coordinate subsequent International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) conferences. The society was officially registered in Nairobi, Kenya with a functional Secretariat in Nigeria. The permanent secretariat of the Society for AIDS in Africa was established in 2009 in Accra – Ghana.