Thread

My thanks to @Dr_JeanKaseya and Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar for convening today’s meeting of African Health leaders. We are facing an extremely serious and complex #Ebola outbreak in the #DRC. It will likely get worse before it gets better. What makes this response especially challenging is: 1. Delayed detection of the outbreak, meaning we are now playing catch-up with a fast-moving epidemic. 2. Intensified fighting in Ituri and North Kivu, and significant distrust of outside authorities among some local communities. 3. The absence of approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo virus strain. But we know this virus, and we know how to stop it. We have contained every previous Ebola outbreak, and we will contain this one too. The question is how quickly we can do it and how many more lives may be lost before then. Thank you @PresidencyZA Ramaphosa for announcing a financial contribution to the response, an important step in supporting @AfricaCDC. I also appreciate the leadership of @_AfricanUnion Chair President @ymahmoudali. We will not rest until this outbreak is brought under control.