UN News Today 20 August 2026 |

DRC receives 70,000 Ebola vaccine doses as Bundibugyo outbreak spreads

Seventy thousand doses of Ebola vaccine are being dispatched to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as the country confronts the ongoing outbreak.

The Ervebo vaccine is effective against Ebola Zaire but it is not yet known if it works against Ebola Bundibugyo, which has sparked the deadliest outbreak in the DRC’s history.

The shipment is going ahead following approval from the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision, after the Government in Kinshasa requested doses from the global Ebola vaccine stockpile last week.

Of the allocation, 20,000 doses will be used in a Phase 3 clinical trial to assess whether the Ervebo vaccine can protect against Bundibugyo virus; 50,000 doses will be provided to frontline and health workers, in line with current UN World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.

Early laboratory and animal studies suggest it may offer some protection.

WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) welcomed the allocation; they stressed the importance of informed consent and a community-led response, while the trial generates evidence to guide future vaccine use.

As elections near, South Sudan risks new atrocity crimes, warns rights probe

The humanitarian crisis in South Sudan risks deepening and there is a real possibility of further atrocity crimes unless renewed fighting stops, a UN-backed probe said on Thursday.

With the country on the cusp of its first national elections since independence, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan stressed that “multiple risk factors for atrocity crimes are converging”.

The panel is made up of three senior independent rights experts who report to the Human Rights Council. They are not UN staff nor paid for their work.

Their warning comes amid a resumption of armed conflict in several parts of South Sudan, in Upper Nile, Jonglei and Unity states, with clashes and civilian deaths also recorded in Western and Central Equatoria states. 

Today’s concerns over renewed atrocities are in line with the UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes, which sets out eight warning signs of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. 

“The Commission finds most (of these indicators) are present and intensifying at once in South Sudan,” it said.

Children account for half of all 46 suspected mpox cases in Guinea-Bissau

To Guinea-Bissau, where children under 15 account for half of the dozens of suspected mpox cases in the country’s first outbreak of the disease.

That’s according to the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which is helping to scale up support to help end the public health threat.

“This is the first time mpox cases have been reported in Guinea-Bissau, making even a small outbreak a major public health event,” said Sandra Martins, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Guinea-Bissau.

The outbreak was declared on 4 July and seven cases were confirmed by 17 August, all among adults. Six infections were recorded and no deaths have been reported.

Of the 46 suspected cases to date, 23 are children including some aged four or younger. This raises concerns over the greater risk of severe complications among young children, UNICEF said. 

There is also concern that the start of the new school year could increase opportunities for transmission, amid critical gaps in community surveillance, contact identification, testing and tracing.

Working with the authorities, WHO and partners, UNICEF is strengthening surveillance, infection prevention and water, sanitation and hygiene measures, while providing families with accurate information.

The agency requires more than $150,000 in flexible emergency funding to support the response and protect vulnerable communities.

Daniel Johnson, UN News