Ethiopia’s Marburg Outbreak Exposes Fragile Regional Health Security Amid Global Threats

The recent confirmation of Ethiopia’s first-ever Marburg virus outbreak, with nine reported cases in the southern Omo region near the unstable South Sudan border, reveals glaring weaknesses in regional health security that should concern American policymakers focused on national safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) praised Ethiopia’s rapid response, but this incident underscores a broader pattern: fragile African health systems remain vulnerable to deadly viral hemorrhagic fevers that easily cross porous borders. For Americans watching global developments, these outbreaks are not isolated events. They represent transnational threats that can ripple into our homeland through global travel and migration pathways. Why...