Why Is China Less Active in Africa's 2026 Ebola Epidemic?

 The Diplomat published on 10 September 2026 a commentary titled "Why Is China Less Active in the 2026 Ebola Epidemic?" by Zhida Shang and Joanne Liu.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak in the DRC may result in more cases and deaths than the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, which China responded to quickly and in a major way.  Although China is better positioned to respond today, its assistance so far has been modest.

One explanation is that China faces less pressure to prove itself.  Second, scientific incentives for China's research have decreased.  Third, the Chinese public may want to see resources devoted to China and not foreign countries.  

The Horn of Africa Faces a Looming Polycrisis

 The Conversation published on 16 July 2026 a discussion summary titled "Africa's Greater Horn Region Is Facing a Looming Polycrisis Fueled by Conflict, Prices, Climate and Disease" by Daniel Maxwell, Alex de Waal, Luka Kuol, Merry Fitzpatrick, and Peter Hailey.

The impacts of a strengthening El Nino and effects of the war in Iran combined with existing prolonged crisis and conflict in the Horn of Africa are leading potentially to a major, multicountry polycrisis.

Picking Up the Pieces at the US State Department

 The Federal News Network published on 16 July 2026 an article titled "Laid-off Federal Employees Spotlight Impacts of State Dept. RIF" by Drew Friedman.

The State Department laid off nearly 1,350, mostly civil service, staff and DOGE fired almost all USAID personnel and abolished the organization, moving a small number of USAID employees to the State Department.  The State Department is now scrambling to figure out how to cope with issues such as Ebola in Africa.  

USAID Dismantlement Has Resulted in Deaths

 The New York Times published on 1 July 2026 a commentary titled "U.S.A.I.D. Cuts Killed People.  That's the Truth" by Nicholas Kristof.  

Elon Musk, who at the beginning of the Trump administration ran DOGE, the organization that dismantled the US Agency for International Development, insists "there is not even a single dead child" as a result of the actions by DOGE.  

Nicholas Kristof, who has met with family members in Africa of dead children, begs to differ.  In addition, studies by university researchers and by Lancet, a British medical journal, estimate that deaths due to USAID financial cuts are in the hundreds of thousands.   

Status of the UN Mission in South Sudan

 The Stimson Center published on 24 June 2026 a report titled "The UN Mission in South Sudan in the Context of Changing Security and Regional Dynamics."

The report concludes that the combined effects of a fragile peace process, heightened political tensions, economic deterioration, the spillover of conflict from Sudan, the emerging Ebola crisis in the neighboring DRC, and growing humanitarian pressures have created a volatile environment in South Sudan.

South Sudan continues to grapple with unresolved questions surrounding the political transition and the lack of implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which remains the primary political framework for addressing the conflict and advancing sustainable peace.  

Ebola and the Dismantlement of USAID

 The American Security Project published on 24 June 2026 a commentary titled "From Aid Cuts to Ebola: A Predictable Crisis Unfolds" by Mohamed Siddiqui.  

The dismantlement of USAID, removal of its on the ground personnel in the DRC and Uganda, and cutting of foreign aid funding for health programs has left international humanitarian groups to provide the bulk of the support for affected communities.  The result has been predictable: a faster spread of Ebola and greater cost to bring it under control.  

China's Health Diplomacy in Africa

 The China-Africa Security Radar posted on 19 June 2026 an article titled "China's Health Diplomacy in Africa: Health Security, Infrastructure, and Strategic Competition" by Lungani Hlongwa.  

A small team of Chinese health experts has arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo to help the country combat the Ebola outbreak.  This is part of China's long standing health diplomacy in Africa, which follows familiar patterns as the United States cuts back its health care assistance and alters its approach.

China Sends Medical Team to Fight Ebola in DRC

 The South China Morning Post published on 7 June 2026 an article titled "Chinese Medical Team Arrives in DR Congo to Help Fight Ebola, 'Filing US Void'" by Jevans Nyabiage.  

China sent a small medical team to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it has significant interests in critical minerals, to combat the outbreak of Ebola.  It is not clear, however, whether the effort will match the extensive contribution it made to combatting Ebola in West Africa in 2014-2016.  

Will China Replace US in Fight against African Ebola?

 The New York Times published on 6 June 2026 an article titled "As Ebola Spreads in East Africa, Will China Step Up?" by Lily Kuo and Stephanie Nolen.

The United States is playing a much smaller role in combatting Ebola in Africa than it has in previous outbreaks.  China has made a modest contribution, but it is unclear how much Beijing is willing to do to help confront what could become the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.  

China to Help DRC Combat Ebola

 Xinhua published on 1 June 2026 an article titled "China Ready to Actively Assist DRC, Other African Countries Hit by Ebola."

China has announced it will provide humanitarian assistance and send medical teams to the DRC to combat Ebola.  In 2014-2016, China played a significant role in combatting the Ebola outbreak in three West African countries.  It is not clear if this contribution will be as extensive as China's engagement ten years ago.

Dismantlement of USAID Prevents US from Responding to Africa's Ebola Outbreak

 The Guardian published on 21 May 2026 an article titled "US Is 'Simply Choosing Not to Stop' Ebola Outbreak after Massive Public Health Cuts, Experts Say" by Melody Schreiber.  

Following the dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development and massive cuts in global and domestic public health efforts, the United States appears to be doing little to stem the outbreak of Ebola in central Africa.  

Outbreak of Marburg Virus in Ethiopia

 The World Health Organization posted on 14 November 2025 an announcement titled "Ethiopia Confirms Outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease."

Ethiopia has reported 9 cases of Marburg virus, an often-fatal disease transmitted to humans by fruit bats.  It is in the same family of diseases that cause Ebola.  There is no vaccine for effective management or prevention of Marburg.  

USAID Shutdown Has Severe Impact on African Health Programs

 The Washington Post published on 10 October 2025 an article titled "Medical Supply Shortages Follow U.S. Aid Cuts in Africa" by Tobi Raji and Katharine Houreld.  

Africa has reportedly lost more than $8 Billion in funding since the Trump administration dismantled USAID earlier this year, The impact has been especially significant in the case of US-financed health care programs.  The article emphasizes the damage on programs in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.

US Aid Reductions Endanger African Health Care

 The Associated Press published on 13 March 2025 an article titled "US Aid Cuts Are Hurting Africa's Ability to Respond to Disease Outbreaks" by Rodney Muhumuza.

The Director General of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jean Kaseya, said recent cuts in US foreign aid are hurting Africa's capacity to respond to disease outbreaks such as Ebola and mpox and are leaving health systems in Africa in disarray.

Dismantling of USAID Sets Stage for Global Disease Outbreaks

 The New York Times published on 8 March 2025 an article titled "How Foreign Aid Cuts Are Setting the Stage for Disease Outbreaks" by Apoorva Mandavilli.  

The Trump administration's pause in foreign aid has hobbled programs that prevent outbreaks of disease such as Ebola and dengue around the world.  These diseases eventually appear everywhere, including the United States.  The interruption and possible termination of USAID funding increase the likelihood of uncontrolled disease outbreaks.  

China's Health Care Program in Africa

 The South China Morning Post published on 11 July 2023 an article titled "China Builds on 60-year Record to Strengthen Medical Ties with Africa" by Jevans Nyabiage.  

The article reviews the development of China's health care programs in Africa since the assignment of a medical team to Algeria in 1963,        

China Updates Approach to Great Power Competition in Africa

 On 11 January 2023 during his visit to Ethiopia, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang stated that "Africa should be a stage for international cooperation, not an arena for major-force rivalry. . . . If African friends wish, China is also ready to carry out trilateral or multilateral cooperation with any other country in Africa to jointly make greater contributions to the development and rejuvenation of Africa."

While still ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang stated even more explicitly during an interview in Washington on 12 December 2022: "And we believe that Africa should be a place for international cooperation, not for major-power competition for geopolitical gains.  We welcome all other members of the international community, including the United States, to join us in the global efforts to help Africa. . . . 

    We need to extend, broaden our vision and expand our cooperation in Africa.  This is one of the very interesting areas for the two countries to work on.  

    In recent years, we have had good examples.  For example, in 2015, China and the United States together helped African countries like Liberia to fight against Ebola.  It is a good example.  Several good economic projects in Africa are jointly participated by China, the United States and African countries.  There's a textile industry park in Ethiopia that is jointly sponsored, built and operated by China, the United States and Ethiopia.  It's very productive, and exports garments to Europe and North American markets.  That's very successful.  I hope that we can work with the United States on peace, security and prosperity in Africa."

Comment:  The possibility for US-China-Africa cooperation has rarely been mentioned since 2015 primarily because of the deterioration in US-China relations and focus on great power competition.  Foreign Minister Qin Gang is suggesting there is an opportunity to revisit China-US cooperation in Africa.   

    

 

The Lancet Editorializes on WHO's Ethiopian Director General

 The Lancet published on 27 August 2022 an editorial titled "Tedros: Tigray, the Triple Billion, and a Second Term."

The editorial reviews briefly the controversial remarks about racism by the World Health Organization's (WHO) Ethiopian Director General, Tedros Adhanom.  The main focus of the editorial is, however, on Tedros' second term as head of the WHO.  It argues that he needs to devolve responsibility and provide more support to strengthened WHO regional offices rather than rely so heavily on direction from the top.  

US, China, and Health Diplomacy in Africa

Lawfare posted on  7 June 2020 a commentary titled "Health Diplomacy in Africa: Competition and Opportunity" by Mark P. Lagon, Georgetown University, and Rachel Sadoff, a student at Harvard.

The authors concluded that the United States can most effectively counter China's influence in Africa by more proactively pursuing health diplomacy, i.e. tackling COVID-19 and Ebola in addition to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. 

COVID-19 and Chinese Soft Power in Africa

Panda Paw Dragon Claw, a popular blog in China, posted on 10 May 2020 a question and answer with me titled "Covid-19 and Chinese Soft Power in Africa."

The Q and A deals with the African reaction to events in Guangzhou and China's handling of the criticism from the perspective of an outside observer. Briefly, those African governments that responded negatively are likely to put this behind them quickly but African publics and civil society are not going to forget Guangzhou any time soon. This is not the place for the American or Western governments to gloat; Africans and Chinese need to sort this out on their own.