New Delhi: The fourth India-Africa Forum Summit, which was scheduled to take place at end of this month after a gap of ten years, has been postponed indefinitely, citing the worsening Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa.A joint press release issued by India and African Union on Thursday said that “it would be advisable to convene the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit at a later date”, adding that new dates would be finalised through mutual consultations.The statement did not name the disease but referred to “the evolving health situation in parts of Africa” and to the role of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in leading the response. The two sides also stressed the importance of ensuring the “full participation and engagement of African leaders and stakeholders” in the summit.This is the second time an India-Africa Forum Summit has been postponed because of an Ebola outbreak on the continent. The third summit, originally scheduled for December 2014, was pushed back to October 2015 because of the Ebola crisis that then swept through West Africa.The postponement comes days after the World Health Organisation, on May 16, declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.Red Cross workers carry the body of a person who died of Ebola into a coffin at a health center in Rwampara, Congo, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Photo: Moses Sawasawa/AP.The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a strain for which there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment, was first detected in Ituri Province in eastern DRC. As of May 19, at least 500 suspected cases and 131 deaths had been reported in the DRC, with 12 confirmed cases in Uganda.India added that it “reaffirmed its solidarity with the peoples and governments of Africa” and expressed readiness to support Africa CDC-led efforts to contain the crisis.External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar launched the summit’s theme, logo and website on April 23, describing the event as “a message of stability in a turbulent world”. The programme was to begin with a Senior Officials Meeting on May 28, followed by a foreign ministers’ meeting on May 29 and the leaders’ summit on May 31, alongside a business dialogue, a track-two discussion bringing together think tanks and a music and dance festival.The IAFS mechanism, launched in 2008, has been held three times, in New Delhi in 2008, in Addis Ababa in 2011 and in New Delhi again in 2015. The fourth edition was delayed by multiple factors, including the 2019 Ebola outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a waning in India’s diplomatic focus to the continent.The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) issued a health advisory asking travellers arriving from or transiting through the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan to immediately report any symptoms or exposure history to airport health authorities before immigration clearance.A day earlier on Wednesday, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava convened a high-level meeting with health secretaries of all states and Union territories to review preparedness and response measures for Ebola on Wednesday.Union health ministry officials said that no Ebola case has been detected in India so far.