Astral Aviation flies WHO aid to DRC to support Ebola outbreak response
Africa's only dedicated cargo airline delivers 12 tonnes of WHO’s medical aid to DRC, supporting frontline workers in Ebola outbreak response.;
Kenya-based Astral Aviation has flown a World Health Organization (WHO) charter delivering 12 tonnes of emergency medical supplies to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in support of the country’s Ebola outbreak response.
The consignment departed from WHO’s Emergency Response and Preparedness hub in Nairobi on an Astral Aviation Boeing 737-400F. According to a social media post by WHO, the cargo included personal protective equipment sufficient to serve 120 frontline health workers for one month, along with patient isolation materials, and critical water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies.
✈ Today, @WHO shipped 12 tonnes of emergency medical supplies and equipment from its Emergency Response and Preparedness hub in #Nairobi 🇰🇪 to support the #DRC 🇨🇩 Ebola outbreak response. The consignment includes personal protective equipment able to serve 120 frontline workers… pic.twitter.com/MLZfV55sgI
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) September 7, 2025
In a different interview, the Kenya-based air cargo carrier’s CEO Sanjeev Gadhia mentioned that the airline works closely with UN agencies such as WFP, UNICEF, UNHCR, and WHO, as well as the Red Cross/Red Crescent, NGOs including IOM, MSF, and Save the Children, and regional governments to deliver aid across Africa.
“On average, we transport between 1,000–3,000 tonnes of humanitarian cargo annually, depending on the scale of emergencies in a given year,” Gadhia said. “This includes food aid (grains, fortified flour, nutrition supplies), healthcare shipments (vaccines, PPE, and medicines), medical equipment (field hospitals equipment, diagnostic machines), and non-food relief items such as tents, water purification systems, solar lamps etc.”
He further said, “We support humanitarian organisations to deliver aid through our scheduled and charter flights that we operate in over 50 destinations across Africa. During emergencies such as drought, floods, epidemics, conflict, etc., we frequently serve regions in the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan), the Great Lakes (DRC, Rwanda, Burundi), and parts of Southern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique etc).”
The DRC has been battling recurring Ebola outbreaks in recent years, with the latest flare-up prompting urgent international intervention. WHO’s rapid deployment of supplies highlights the critical role of regional air cargo operators such as Astral in bridging the “last mile” during emergencies.