Ebola returns: How to fight outbreak amid defunding of global health?

Ebola returns: How to fight outbreak amid defunding of global health? Africa

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41:22

Issued on: 21/05/2026 - 10:05Modified: 21/05/2026 - 10:12

41:22 min Share Play (41:22 min) From the show Reading time 1 min

Can border walls keep out pandemics? The World Health Organization is officially branding the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo a "public health emergency of international concern". As the death toll from the rare strain climbs, so does the number of contact cases. Ituri province may seem remote on a map, but nowhere's very far in a globalised world.

Watch moreEbola in DR Congo: 'This could be a very bad outbreak,' MSF health worker says

We ask about the outbreak and the lessons learned from previous pandemics. Since Covid, the United States has quit the UN's health body. Public aid and science budgets are trending down among all G7 nations.

What does that mean for the WHO and for global health? Why is it that despite Covid and despite globalisation, there's such a backlash against vaccines, cross-border cooperation and more broadly, against science itself? 

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Juliette Brown, Charles Wente.

By: François PICARD Rebecca GNIGNATI Juliette Laffont Juliette Brown Charles WENTE Video by: François PICARD Advertising Related keywords

• DR Congo
• Uganda
• Ebola
• WHO
• Public health
• Health