90-Second Read: Infectious diseases such as Hantavirus and Ebola becoming more frequent and damaging, say experts

Disease outbreaks are becoming more likely due to the climate crisis and armed conflict, while collective action is being undermined by geopolitical fragmentation and commercial self-interest, the report said. WHO's representative in the DRC, Anne Ancia, told Reuters that in responding to the Ebola outbreak it had emptied its stocks of protective equipment in the capital, Kinshasa, and was preparing a cargo plane to bring additional supplies from a depot in Kenya. The WHO will host an urgent scientific consultation on Friday, bringing together top experts to collate what is known about the virus and where research and development of vaccines, tests and medicines should be focused. The International Rescue Committee and Médecins Sans Frontières aid groups said they had teams responding to the outbreak.

By the time the alarm was raised, the virus had already moved along major transport routes and crossed borders. During recent mpox outbreaks, vaccines took almost two years to reach affected countries in Africa, which is even slower than the 17 months it took for Covid-19 vaccines to be distributed. Outbreaks had damaged trust in government, civil liberties and democratic norms, amplified by politicised responses and attacks on scientific institutions, the GPMB warned. Political leaders, industry and civil society can still change the trajectory of global preparedness, if they turn their commitments into measurable progress before the next crisis strikes.

When you pull billions out of the WHO and dismantle frontline USAID programmes, you gut the exact surveillance system meant to catch these viruses early. But the world is "moving backwards" on measures such as ensuring equitable access to vaccines, tests and treatments, it found. These had outlasted the crises themselves and left societies "less resilient to the next emergency", it said. But without trust and equity, those solutions will not reach the people who need them most.