Ebola, hantavirus: Is the world prepared for the next pandemic?

The WHO has declared an Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo a public health emergency of international concern. Countries are also working to contain a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship trip to South America. Although the viruses differ in cause and treatment, the outbreaks raise concerns about international travel and cross-border coordination. These concerns follow the COVID-19 pandemic, when global lockdowns occurred amid insufficient preparedness for coronavirus spread. Since 2025, the WHO has faced financial strain due to lack of donor funding, with the Director-General warning that global health would be at serious risk without support. The situation worsened after the United States withdrew from the WHO, reducing major budget contributions and disrupting global health financing.

"The WHO has declared that an Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a public health emergency of international concern, setting off alarm bells around the world. The WHO's announcement on Sunday came as several countries are battling to contain a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship trip to South America. While the cause and treatment for the two viruses differ, news of their outbreaks has caused world leaders and health agencies to question what this means for international travel and cross-border coordination in containing them."

"Every time a health emergency occurs anywhere in the world, the first response of the WHO is to determine the danger the disease poses and then implement a plan to respond to it. But since 2025, the United Nations health agency has been struggling financially due to a lack of funding from donors. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned in May 2025 that global health would be at serious risk without enough donor support and that the agency was facing the greatest disruption to global health financing in memory."

"The crisis deepened after the United States, which had previously covered nearly one-fifth of the WHO's budget, officially withdrew from the organisation in January this year. US President Donald Trump announced the decision in January 2025, alleging the WHO had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises. As a result, the programme budget for the agency's"

Read at www.aljazeera.com