India and the African Union postponed the fourth India-Africa Forum Summit on Thursday, scrapping a high-level diplomatic gathering that had been scheduled to take place in New Delhi from May 28 to May 31. India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced the decision jointly with the African Union, citing the “emerging public health situation” in Africa — a direct reference to an escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The joint statement, issued on May 21, said the decision was made “in recognition of the importance of ensuring the full participation and engagement of African leaders and stakeholders, and mindful of the emerging public health situation on the continent,” according to Reuters. No new date for the summit has been confirmed.
The outbreak driving the postponement involves the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus — a rare variant for which no licensed vaccine or approved treatment currently exists, the World Health Organization confirmed. As of May 19, at least 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths had been recorded in the DRC, according to the WHO. The UN health agency declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 16, according to The Wire.
The WHO said it considers the risk of the outbreak high both within the DRC and across the broader central African region. The agency has assessed global pandemic risk as low, though it has not yet identified the original source of the virus. “Patient zero has not been found,” the WHO said, as reported by the Associated Press.
Aid groups operating in eastern Congo offered a starker picture. Healthcare workers and relief organisations warned that the outbreak is “gaining momentum,” with AP reporting that doctors in Bunia — identified as the site of the first known death — were using out-of-date facemasks and treating suspected Ebola patients in general wards due to a critical shortage of isolation space. Nearly 20 metric tons of aid have been airlifted to Bunia, but responders say supplies remain inadequate.
The Bundibugyo strain spread undetected for weeks after the first known death, in part because initial tests targeted a more common Ebola variant and returned negative results, the AP reported. Experts told the AP that the true scale of the outbreak is likely larger than officially reported figures suggest.
A first confirmed Ebola case was also recorded in South Kivu province, DRC, on Thursday. According to France 24, the AFC/M23 armed group — which controls the area — confirmed through a spokesman that a 28-year-old individual from Kisangani died from Ebola before a diagnosis was made. The Congolese government had not commented on the South Kivu case as of Thursday afternoon.
The outbreak is spreading through territory controlled by armed groups, which has severely complicated the response. The airport in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, has been shut since the AFC/M23 seized the city in January 2025, according to France 24, cutting off a key air corridor for emergency aid.
India responded to the crisis by issuing health advisories at two major international airports. The Week reported that Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad activated screenings for passengers arriving from or transiting through the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan. India’s Union Health Secretary also chaired a high-level national preparedness meeting with state governments to assess domestic response measures.
The crisis has been further compounded by significant reductions in international humanitarian funding. France 24 and Africanews both reported that humanitarian organisations have seen budgets cut sharply, particularly following US aid spending reductions enacted by President Donald Trump after he returned to office in January 2025. Trump also moved to withdraw the United States from the WHO — the agency leading the international Ebola response — citing concerns about the organisation’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Background
The India-Africa Forum Summit is a major multilateral platform for political and economic engagement between India and the 55-member African Union. The fourth edition was intended to advance cooperation across trade, investment, digital technology, innovation, sustainability, and global governance. The forum has met three times previously, with the third summit held in New Delhi in 2015. That earlier summit was also delayed from 2014 — similarly due to an Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The Bundibugyo strain responsible for the current outbreak is distinct from the Zaire strain that caused the West African epidemic from 2014 to 2016, in which more than 11,000 people died. The Bundibugyo strain has historically occurred far less frequently. The DRC has now reported Ebola cases spreading beyond its traditional eastern heartland, with a new case confirmed in South Kivu on Thursday.
What Happens Next
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said new dates for the summit will be finalised through consultations with African member states, but no timeline was given. The WHO is continuing to coordinate the international response to the Bundibugyo outbreak, though vaccine development for this strain is not expected to produce an approved product for at least nine months, according to airport health advisories cited by The Week. India will maintain health screenings at Indira Gandhi International Airport and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport for travellers from the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan until further notice. Health workers and aid groups in eastern Congo are continuing to call for additional supplies, personnel, and isolation facilities to contain the outbreak.
