WHO Urges Pandemic Treaty Push as Ebola Toll Tops 5,300

WHO Urges Pandemic Treaty Push as Ebola Toll Tops 5,300

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged countries to complete the global pandemic treaty, citing the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that has now killed more than 5,300 people. He spoke in Geneva on Monday, November 2, 2026, as the ninth round of negotiations on the treaty opened, according to AFP and Al Jazeera. https://www.opinionnigeria.com/ebola-outbreak-highlights-urgent-need-for-pandemic-treaty-who-chief-says/

What the WHO chief said

In his opening remarks, Tedros said he had carried one message to every WHO regional committee: “finish the job”. He said member states made history by adopting the Pandemic Agreement and now must complete its Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex so the agreement can enter into force.

AFP quotes him as saying PABS is “the last remaining piece of our puzzle”. The system is meant to regulate how pathogens with pandemic potential are shared and how benefits such as vaccines, tests and treatments are distributed.

Tedros pointed to Covid-19, saying many countries waited for vaccines while others secured far more than they needed. He also cited the April hantavirus outbreak that killed three people aboard a cruise ship, and the Ebola epidemic declared in May, Al Jazeera reports.

The Ebola outbreak

Africa CDC data shared with AFP on Monday show the outbreak has killed 5,376 people, 5,372 of them in the DRC and two each in Kenya and Uganda. More than 10,400 cases have been confirmed, with a fatality rate above 50 percent.

The DRC declared its 17th and largest Ebola outbreak in mid-May. It is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists, though trials of the Ervebo vaccine, effective against the more common Zaire strain, have begun, according to AFP.

Uganda recorded 20 cases, almost all in people who had travelled from the DRC, before being declared Ebola-free in August, Daily Trust reports. Kenya recorded its first Ebola cases in October, with nine infections and two deaths, according to Al Jazeera.

Nigerian health authorities said two suspected cases in the northeast tested negative in two rounds of testing, Al Jazeera reported.

Timeline:

May 2025: Pandemic Agreement adopted; PABS left unresolved.
April 2026: Hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship.
Mid-May 2026: DRC declares its 17th Ebola outbreak.
October 2026: Kenya records first Ebola cases.
November 2, 2026: Ninth round of treaty talks opens in Geneva.

Reactions and the other side

Tedros said there is strong political support for a deal, noting that the UN General Assembly recently adopted a political declaration on pandemic prevention and preparedness in which leaders called for the PABS talks to be concluded, according to WHO’s opening remarks.

AFP reports that wealthy countries and developing nations remain at loggerheads over how the treaty, adopted last year, will work in practice.

What happens next

Negotiators are now meeting in Geneva for the ninth round on the PABS annex. The sources reviewed give no deadline for completing it or a date for the agreement to enter into force. Joydey9ja.com will update this report as talks and the outbreak figures develop.