Collaboration with India will help counter ‘future pandemics’, says African Union as Ebola outbreak spreads

AU says India-Africa Forum Summit on track. US Embassy in Uganda stops visa service

Published – May 19, 2026 02:12 am IST – New Delhi

Kallol Bhattacherjee

Representative image.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Ahead of next week’s India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi, the African Union has called for “collective international solidarity and cooperation” to deal with the Ebola virus outbreak affecting multiple African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

Responding to queries from The Hindu, Nuur Mohamud Sheekh, spokesperson of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, said the upcoming summit would provide an opportunity to work on “future pandemics” and a response mechanism.

“While the Ebola outbreak is affecting a number of African countries, it is important to underscore that pandemics and public health emergencies respect no borders and require collective international solidarity and cooperation,” Mr. Sheekh said on Monday (May 18, 2026) in an email response to The Hindu.

The African Union’s statement came a day after the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). 

Earlier, Chairperson of the African Union Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf expressed deep concern about the outbreak and said Africa would ‘overcome’ the latest challenge through “unity, coordination and collective action”.

India, which partnered with African countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to host the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV) from May 28 to 31, with African Union member states expected to participate.

The Ministry of External Affairs has not responded to queries from The Hindu on whether the Ebola outbreak will cast a shadow on the conduct of the IAFS-IV in Delhi; however, the United States Embassy in Uganda has temporarily paused visa operations from May 18 in light of the outbreak.

Mr. Sheekh, however, said at the moment the outbreak is not expected to affect the summit, arguing that the event would serve as an important platform ”for strengthening Africa-India cooperation, including in the fields of public health preparedness, biotechnology, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and pandemic response”.

“Africa stands to benefit greatly from deeper collaboration and knowledge-sharing with India in building resilient health systems capable of responding to future pandemics and health emergencies,” he said.

Published – May 19, 2026 02:12 am IST