South Sudan’s government has formally pushed back against warnings issued by six Western and Asian diplomatic missions regarding the severe risk of an Ebola outbreak, maintaining that no cases of the virus have been confirmed within its borders despite a deadly epidemic raging in neighboring countries.
In an official statement released on Thursday, South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed the government’s commitment to safeguarding public health and acknowledged the ongoing contributions of international partners in bolstering national disease surveillance and response capabilities. However, Juba sharply criticized the manner in which the foreign embassies aired their concerns, urging diplomats to utilize established diplomatic channels rather than issuing public pronouncements that could spark panic.
“Public statements on public health matters should be guided by verified information and avoid raising undue alarm or creating unnecessary fear among the public,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
The diplomatic friction was triggered by a joint communiqué from the embassies of Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. While the six missions stopped short of claiming the virus had already entered South Sudan, they sounded the alarm over the high probability of an outbreak and used the looming health crisis to press Juba on governance and fiscal priorities.
Specifically, the embassies urged South Sudan’s leadership to allocate public revenues toward financing the domestic health sector—including ensuring the timely payment of salaries for public health workers, who have frequently gone unpaid amid economic instability. The missions also demanded that authorities guarantee unhindered access for humanitarian organizations operating across the country so aid workers can reach vulnerable populations without bureaucratic or security impediments.
The diplomatic intervention comes against the backdrop of a devastating regional health emergency. Since May 2026, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been battling a major outbreak of Bundibugyo virus disease, a rare and deadly strain of Ebola. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) situation update published on November 6, the DRC had recorded 10,668 confirmed cases and 5,198 deaths as of November 3. The epidemic has also spilled across borders, resulting in nine confirmed cases in Kenya and an outbreak in Uganda that health authorities have since managed to bring under control.
Because South Sudan shares a long, porous border with the DRC characterized by heavy cross-border trade, frequent population movements, and humanitarian displacement, international health experts view the country as acutely vulnerable.
In a separate assessment released on Thursday, the WHO revealed that the risk of Ebola being imported into South Sudan had surged to 99% as of October. A joint cross-border assessment conducted in September alone tracked 3,450 individuals crossing into South Sudan from the DRC, underscoring the immense challenge of monitoring the frontier.
Despite the grim risk metrics, the WHO confirmed that South Sudan remains free of the virus. Health officials have intensified border screenings, laboratory readiness, and community sensitization campaigns across 15 high-risk counties, pushing the nation’s overall preparedness rating to 72.5% by the end of October. Out of 76 suspected Ebola alerts logged through October 30, 33 tested negative in laboratories, while the remainder were ruled out following clinical investigations.
