Ebola update: WHO on the ground to help contain outbreak

Science Forward, the podcast of the UN Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board, features world-leading scientists, and explores today’s challenges, from AI and biotechnology to climate and health.In the very first episode of Science Forward, Board member Yoshua Bengio and AI policy expert Charlotte Stix unpack the growing risks of deceptive AI with hosts Julia Bhattacharjee and Adam Day, to answer the question: What happens when AI learns to lie?

Over the weekend, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.As of Saturday, 16 May, health authorities had recorded eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths in Ituri province in eastern DRC.Uganda also confirmed two Ebola cases – including one death reported in capital Kampala – among travellers arriving from the DRC.“Ebola is a very serious disease, but it’s one that we know how to control,” said Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa.Speaking to UN News’ Flora Nducha, he explained the measures WHO is taking to contain the spread of the virus and called on the media to share accurate information to avoid a “fear outbreak”.

It’s hard to come up with new ways to describe the massive humanitarian emergency that is still unfolding in Sudan because of the war.A staggering 33 million people need help and later today, UN-backed food insecurity experts are expected to warn once again that hunger is on the rise again and famine is a real risk in 14 areas of the devastated country.Although it is extremely difficult and dangerous to access and report from Sudan’s east, photographer Giles Clarke has managed to do so, with the help of the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. The result is a memorable, harrowing photo-essay that features the stories of five civilians impacted by the conflict. It’s called Darfur’s Survivors. 

Eighty years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, artist Sandy Walker believes art still has the power to transform people’s perceptions. Speaking to UN News at United Nations Headquarters, Mr. Walker reflected on the influence of Hiroshima survivor and writer Tamiki Hara, whose final work, My Deepest Desire, inspired a series of ink drawings that now accompany a new edition of the text.Mr. Walker explains why he believes art can shape collective memory by first reaching individuals one by one.“When asked what Hiroshima’s message to the world today might be,” he told UN News’ Ana Carmo, “the answer is one word: stop.”

The United Nations Victims’ Rights Advocate, Najla Nassif Palma, has urged survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel to “come forward”, while calling for stronger action across the UN system and for Member States to put victims’ rights first.Her office works to ensure victims “have a voice, assistance and justice”. The mandate was established by Secretary-General António Guterres in 2017 as part of the UN’s strategy to combat sexual exploitation and abuse.Speaking to UN News’s Ana Carmo following the release of a new report, Ms. Nassif Palma highlighted progress in expanding access to medical, psychosocial and legal support, as well as education and livelihood assistance for children born as a result of exploitation. However, she warns that significant gaps remain.

World Press Freedom Day, officially observed on Sunday, arrives this year under the theme Shaping a Future at Peace, a message that feels especially urgent as the number of journalists killed in conflict zones continues to rise.According to the UN education and culture organization, UNESCO, which monitors press freedom, 93 journalists were killed in 2025 alone – 60 of them in conflict zones.So, what does a call for peace mean in today’s turbulent global landscape? UN News’s Nancy Sarkis spoke to Sylvie Coudray, Director of UNESCO’s Division for Freedom of Expression, Media Development, and Media and Information Literacy.

NASA aerospace engineer Alinda Mashiku was born in New York then moved to Tanzania as a young girl, where she dreamed of becoming an astronaut – but reaching for the stars seemed almost an impossibility. Today, as a Program Manager with the US space agency, she helps ensure that satellites avoid collisions in orbit, contributing to the safety and sustainability of pioneering space missions such as the record-breaking Artemis II mission around the moon earlier this month.According to UN data, women make up only 35 per cent of science, tech, engineering and maths graduates (STEM) – figure that has not changed in the past decade.In an interview with UN News’s Anold Kayanda from our Swahili team, Ms. Mashiku explains why girls should place no limits on their ambitions to break the STEM glass ceiling, into the stratosphere. 

As the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock highlights a striking gap in its leadership: the continued absence of a woman Secretary-General.For an institution founded on principles of equality, human rights, and inclusion, this omission is becoming harder to defend. Ms. Baerbock argues that the issue is not merely symbolic, but central to the UN’s mission, with women’s rights inseparable from peace, security, and sustainable development.In an interview with UN News’s Anshu Sharma during her official visit to India, Ms. Baerbock also reflected on the broader challenges facing multilateralism, the need for reform, and the importance of standing together to uphold the values of the UN Charter.

Afghanistan is seeing a sharp rise in refugees heading home, with more than 2.8 million people coming back from Iran and Pakistan in 2025 alone, according to UN estimates.That brings the total number of returnees since September 2023 to over three million. The surge has seen the population rise by more than 10 per cent, adding pressure to already limited infrastructure and fragile public services.UN News’s Nancy Sarkis spoke to Stephanie Loose, Country Programme Manager at UN-Habitat Afghanistan, about why sustainable reintegration depends on better access to housing and essential services.

Tuvalu, a low-lying Pacific island nation, is on the frontline of the climate crisis, with rising sea levels threatening to submerge much of its territory by the end of the century.Many of its citizens are already planning for an uncertain future. In 2025, more than 90 per cent applied for a visa pathway offering residency in Australia. Earlier, in 2022, the government launched a “digital nation” initiative in the metaverse to help preserve Tuvalu’s statehood, identity and culture if its land is lost.Backed by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and partners, Tuvalu’s government is trying to protect its most heavily populated islands by creating raised land banks.UN News’s Edouard de Bray asked Tuya Altangerel, a senior UNDP official in the Pacific region,  how rising sea levels are already affecting communities.