The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa and European Union partners are deepening collaboration on regional health security, with a focus on emergency preparedness, surveillance and coordinated response to cross-border health threats.
The partnership comes as Africa faces ongoing health emergencies, including an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda that was declared a public health emergency of international concern in May 2026. The EU and WHO have scaled up joint action to support the response, building on the leadership of WHO’s Regional Directors for Africa and Europe.
The EU and WHO have mobilised resources to support the Ebola response in the DRC and Uganda, including EUR 1.5 million in co-financing to the WHO AFRO Regional Emergency Hub in Dakar. This has enabled the delivery of 6.3 tonnes of medical supplies to the DRC, including sample collection kits, viral haemorrhagic fever kits, specialised personal protective equipment, medications and the deployment of expert teams on the ground.
The joint response is anchored in the Continental Preparedness and Response Plan developed by WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The plan provides a framework for coordinated action across all pillars of response, from surveillance and case management to vaccination and community engagement.
Beyond the immediate response, WHO Africa and EU partners are working to strengthen long-term preparedness through initiatives such as pooled procurement of emergency medical countermeasures, including diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. A workshop in Brussels in January 2026 brought together regional partners, including Africa CDC, to share experiences and identify common challenges.
The EU’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA) is also supporting WHO’s Regional Office for Africa in intelligence gathering and threat assessment, specifically addressing the threat of emerging infections on the African continent. This collaboration aims to boost the development of medical countermeasures for infectious diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential.
WHO Africa is also advancing cross-border collaboration among African countries, with health ministers from 10 countries signing a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen coordination, information-sharing and joint preparedness and response to health emergencies. The framework outlines practical steps including stronger data sharing, joint risk assessments and coordinated deployment of response teams.
For Africa, the partnership with the EU offers an opportunity to build more resilient health systems capable of detecting and responding to threats before they escalate. The challenge now is to sustain the momentum and ensure that collaboration translates into lasting improvements in health security across the continent.
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