News 19 June 2026 IOM Conducts Over 1 Million Health Screenings, Scales Up Ebola Response

Geneva/Nairobi 19 June 2026 - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has conducted more than one million health screenings at borders and along key cross-border routes and travel corridors across Ebola-affected and at-risk countries as it scales up its efforts to support the control of an outbreak that has spread across eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

"Human mobility is central to both the spread and containment of infectious diseases," said Frantz Celestin, IOM Regional Director for East, Horn and Southern Africa. "With more than one million health screenings already conducted, IOM is working alongside governments and partners to strengthen preparedness and response capacities, protect people on the move, and to mitigate cross-border transmission."

The milestone underscores the scale of efforts required to contain Ebola in one of Africa's most dynamic mobility corridors, where thousands of people cross borders daily for trade, work, family reunification and access to essential services. In Ituri Province alone, more than 16,000 people move across porous borders every day as per IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix, highlighting the critical role of border health leadership in helping to mitigate cross-border transmission.

The outbreak, which has spread across North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces in eastern DRC and confirmed cross-border transmission into Uganda, has now resulted in 198 deaths and over 856 infections as of 18 June, according to the World Health Organization. Neighbouring countries including Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan remain at elevated risk due to high levels of population movement along regional migration corridors.

In response, IOM is mobilizing additional human, logistical and financial resources to respond to the urgency, complexity and impact on affected communities. The Organization is boosting its health surveillance across the 110 Points of Entry (PoE), and 43 additional health screening points along major routes with surge personnel deployed to high-risk border areas. Population mobility mapping has been expanded to inform national and regional containment strategies and strengthen surveillance along key routes and at major border crossings to inform preparedness and response in high-risk locations and hotspots.

Since the start of the outbreak in mid-April 2026, IOM has supported surveillance and screening efforts along key travel corridors, border crossings and displacement settings. The Organization is also strengthening preparedness in at-risk countries including Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia, among others, by enhancing surveillance systems at PoE and mapping high-risk travel routes and areas of congregation.

IOM is using mobility data from its population mobility mapping, which helps to prioritize locations for enhanced surveillance and highlight hotspots to strengthen preparedness and response, including contact tracing, risk communication and community engagement, and the referral of suspected cases, allowing response teams to prioritize high-risk areas. Disease surveillance and health screening at borders are critical to containing the disease.

IOM's response is being supported by the US government and the European Union. As the situation evolves, IOM is appealing for additional support to sustain life-saving interventions, protect vulnerable communities, and strengthen cross-border health systems to prevent further spread.

For more information, please visit IOM's Media Centre.