On 4 September 2025, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Kasai Province, following confirmation of Zaire ebolavirus by the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) in Bulape and Mweka Health Zones. As of 19... September, there have been 48 total cases (38 confirmed, 10 probable) with 31 deaths (21 confirmed, 10 probable) and a CFR of 64.5%. Among laboratory confirmed cases, 16 deaths were recorded (CFR: 45.7%). Four deaths occurred among health workers, underscoring the risk of nosocomial transmission. Most cases (39.7%) are among adults aged 20 years and above, in a densely populated, remote, and under-resourced area.
The outbreak is driven by multiple risk factors, including transmission in health facilities with limited infection prevention and control (IPC) measures and personal protective equipment (PPE), incomplete contact tracing, delayed detection, and unsafe burial practices. High population mobility between Bulape and Tshikapa, reliance on traditional healers, and the concurrent mpox outbreak are further straining the fragile health system and increasing the risk of geographic spread.
more
This plan, approved by the Organization’s 62nd Directing Council, was shaped by extensive consultations with countries and stakeholders, and commits to transformative health outcomes over the next six years, tackling noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), mental health, health security, fragmented healt...h systems and services, and the elimination of communicable diseases, amongst others.
“The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that the Region of the Americas is stronger when we work together,” said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director. “This Strategic Plan harnesses our collective strength to build resilient health systems, reduce disease burden, and improve health and well-being for all across the Americas.”
The plan builds on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed gaps in health systems while highlighting the power of joint action. It targets measurable impacts in countries, such as reducing maternal mortality, reversing rising suicide rates, and eliminating diseases like leprosy and Chagas.
more
This brief report summarizes recent information on HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) in the era of integrase-strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) for HIV prevention and treatment.
Strengthening global health security to protect the world against future epidemics and pandemics requires well-tested and decentralized capacities for the local detection and rapid containment of outbreaks of infectious disease. For such capacities to translate into effective response actions, ind...ividuals and teams must be well connected and coordinated, despite differences in the size, geography, technical focus or constituency of their parent institution.
more
The primary audience for this guideline includes policy-makers or service providers who are responsible for developing national and local health-care protocols and policies related to care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period, and those directly providing care to women during pregna...ncy, including obstetricians, midwives, endocrinologists, nurses, general practitioners, dietitians and diabetes educators, and managers of maternal and child health programmes, in all settings.
more
This case study examines the humanitarian response to the conflict-related crisis in the North-East of Nigeria, focusing primarily on the period from 2015 to the end of 2016. The aim is test the central hypotheses of the Emergency Gap project: that the current structure, conceptual underpinning and... prevalent mindset of the international humanitarian system limits its capacity to be effective in response to conflict-related emergencies.
As with many conflict-related crises, the emergency in north-east Nigeria has deep and complex roots in the history of the region. The conflict began in 2009 and quickly developed beyond the control of the authorities. It unfolded in the midst of pre-existing political, social and economic tensions, making an effective humanitarian response exceedingly difficult. Despite this complexity, what is clear is that the crisis has resulted in a sprawling humanitarian disaster that has killed over 25,000 people as a direct result of the violence, and continues to devastate many more lives through hunger, psychological trauma and lack of access to healthcare.
more
As the Burundi refugee crisis enters its fourth year, some 430,000 Burundian refugees are being hosted across the region by the governments and people of Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. Although the spectre of mass violence in Burundi has receded, with the politic...al situation still unresolved and the persistence of significant human rights concerns, refugee arrivals are expected to continue in 2018, albeit at lower levels than in previous years.
more
The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health
in the United States: A Scientific Assessment
Climate change is a significant threat to the health of the American people. This scientific assessment examines how climate change is already affecting human health and the changes that may occur in the fu...ture.
more
Research Article | Aim: This study aimed to find the most common stressors facing the adolescents in the Gaza Strip, to explore the types and severity of the traumatic experiences, and to estimate the prevalence rate of post-traumatic events.
J Trauma Crit Care 2017 Volume 1 Issue 2 pp-25-33
A Practical Guide for Mental Health Service Providers
Crisis Group’s Watch List identifies ten countries or regions at risk of deadly conflict or escalation thereof in 2021. In these places, early action, driven or supported by the EU and its member states, could enhance prospects for peace and stability.
Crisis Group’s early-warning Watch List id...entifies up to ten countries and regions at risk of conflict or escalation of violence. In these situations, early action, driven or supported by the EU and its member states, could generate stronger prospects for peace. The Watch List 2021 includes an Introduction, detailed conflict analyses and EU-targeted recommendations on Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Iran & the Gulf, Libya, Mexico & Central America, Nagorno-Karabakh, Somalia, Thailand and Venezuela.
more
In Kenya, the bacterial infections that contribute most to human disease are often those in which re-‐sistance is most evident. Examples are multidrug-‐resistant enteric bacterial pathogens such as typhoid, ... diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli and invasive non-‐typhi salmonella, penicillin-‐resistant Streptococcus pneu-‐moniae, vancomycin-‐resistant enterococci, methicillin-‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-‐re-‐sistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Resistance to medicines commonly used to treat malaria is of particu-‐lar concern, as is the emerging resistance to anti-‐HIV drugs. Often, more expensive medicines are required to treat these infections, and this becomes a major challenge in resource-‐poor settings.
more
Universal health coverage ensures everyone has access to the health services they need without suffering financial hardship as a result. In December 2012, a UN resolution was passed encouraging governments to move towards providing universal access to affordable and quality health care services. As ...countries move towards it, common challenges are emerging -- challenges to which research can help provide answers.
more
Training Modules for climate change and Health - WHO
This document, Programme and curriculum development guide, presents a systematic approach to developing programmes and curricula for implementation of the family planning (FP) and comprehensive abortion care (CAC) competencies,and the theory behind the approach. Specifically, the aim is for effectiv...e implementation of these competencies in the context of pre-service education and training, post-graduate studies and continuing professional development (CPD). This guide is designed for programme and curriculum developers who are preparing or revising formal education and training programmes and curricula for the FP and CAC workforce.
This guide proposes a new FP and CAC Educational Design Model for programme and curriculum development. This model can support competency-based education (CBE) for current and future FP and CAC services, with a pre-service training pathway of at least 12 months, and can also support in-service training. CBE provides the most effective means to orient educational programmes and curricula towards effective health services that meet population health needs, and this Educational Design Model provides a guide for linking the competencies required to provide a range of health services
more
Lancet Psychiatry 2016;3: 415–24