Aid teams from the UN World Health Organization ( WHO) “cannot move freely to support the hospitals, even ambulances cannot run. It’s a situation that in public health is a nightmare,” said Dr Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO Representive in DRC.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a rare infection most commonly found in parts of central and east Africa. The seventh confirmed UK case was recorded in a person who had recently travelled to Uganda.

A potential Ebola outbreak has been reported in the DRC, at a time when the Trump administration has paused communication with the WHO.

Staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been told to halt all communication with the World Health Organization.

Situation in Goma particularly dire, with fighting damaging water and electricity systems, forcing residents to rely on unsafe sources like lake water, says emergency response coordinator - Anadolu Aj

Japan has sent the Democratic Republic of the Congo 50,000 doses of a vaccine against mpox, previously known as monkeypox.

Rebels appear to be edging closer to taking control of the key city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo following reports that they had captured its airport.

"Unfairly onerous payments" are cited in the executive order as a reason for WHO withdrawal. Countries’ dues are a percentage of their gross domestic product, meaning that as the world’s richest nation, the United States has generally paid more than other countries.

British foreign secretary laments lack of global attention to crises in Africa compared with conflicts in other regions - Anadolu Ajansı

Democratic Republic of Congo's M23 rebels are moving south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, in what appears to be an attempt to expand their area of control in the country's east after capturing the city of Goma.

Advances being made by the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo are "heightening the threat of a regional war," according to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

As UN agencies reported "relative calm" on Wednesday in the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), humanitarians warned that the chaos caused by advancing M23 rebel forces could fuel a region-wide health emergency.