President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to supporting continental efforts to combat Ebola, warning that the outbreak requires strengthened cooperation and resilient health systems across Africa.

Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday alongside Kenyan President William Ruto during his state visit to South Africa, Ramaphosa said the disease remains a significant concern for the African continent.

“Ebola, as President Ruto said, is a pandemic, one that should concern all of us on the African continent,” he said.

Ramaphosa confirmed that South Africa continues to support continental health institutions, including the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), as part of broader efforts to enhance readiness and response capacity.

The South African president noted the country’s earlier contribution of $5 million to the AUCDC to support efforts aimed at strengthening health systems and outbreak preparedness across the continent.

“This contribution is meant to strengthen health systems in DRC, in Uganda, as well as the AUCDC,” Ramaphosa said.

He said the support reflects South Africa’s commitment to a proactive and coordinated continental approach to health security, aimed at ensuring Africa is better prepared to manage infectious disease outbreaks.

“Our health systems on the continent need to be not only strengthened, but there needs to be readiness to deal with pandemics like this,” he said.

Ramaphosa stressed that protecting public health in one part of the continent contributes to broader regional and global safety.

“For us to do so is to protect the peoples of Africa,” he said.

The president also called for continued support from international partners and institutions to reinforce the capacity of the Africa CDC and national health systems across the continent.

“In this regard, we call on all other countries and institutions that are able to lend a hand to make a contribution to enable the AU CDC to be able to deal with this challenge quite effectively,” he said.

Kenya implements extensive preparedness measures

President Ruto said precautionary measures in his country are part of broader preparedness efforts linked to developments in the region, particularly in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

“The situation in Eastern DRC is a source of concern for any country, including Kenya, that is mindful of matters of the health of its citizens,” he said.

Ruto confirmed that Kenya has not recorded any Ebola cases.

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“Ebola is a pandemic, but it is not confined in one place, and just for context, there has not been a single reported incident of Ebola in Kenya,” he said.

The Kenyan president said his government had taken extensive measures to prepare for any eventuality, including enhanced screening at entry points, training health personnel and establishing isolation facilities across the country.

“We have prepared ourselves adequately. We have taken command of all our entry points. We are doing testing of every person coming in Kenya from anywhere near that region,” he said.

According to Ruto, Kenya is testing between 2 000 and 3 000 people daily, has mobilised testing teams and resources, trained thousands of staff members and established 23 isolation facilities nationwide.

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Addressing criticism surrounding a quarantine facility established in partnership with the United States at a Kenyan military air base, Ruto said the arrangement was part of broader cooperation to strengthen preparedness.

“The American government has supported us in this Ebola infrastructure to the tune of 1,8 million Kenya shillings, and they did make a request to us, in the process of setting up all the other facilities, to also set up one they can use in the event that their citizens, their soldiers, some of them in Kenya or from elsewhere, are affected,” he said.

He stressed that Kenya has a responsibility to provide healthcare to all people within its borders.

The regional response to the Ebola outbreak comes as the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to manage cases in its eastern provinces, with neighbouring countries implementing enhanced surveillance and preparedness measures to prevent cross-border transmission.

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