UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Ebola crisis: India-Africa summit postponed

Q1. The postponement of the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV) in 2026 was formally announced from the Indian side by which ministry, in coordination with the African Union?

  • A. Ministry of External Affairs
  • B. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • C. Ministry of Home Affairs
  • D. Ministry of Culture

Q2. For IAFS-IV, India's principal continental counterpart and co-host — the body consulted for the postponement and rescheduling — is which one of the following?

  • A. African Union Commission
  • B. African Development Bank
  • C. New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
  • D. Pan-African Parliament

Q3. The India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. The apex platform for India-Africa engagement, convening Heads of State/Government of India and Africa in partnership with the African Union
  • B. A bilateral free-trade arrangement between India and the African Continental Free Trade Area
  • C. A specialised financing agency of the African Union for development projects in India
  • D. A United Nations regional forum for South-South cooperation in Africa

Q4. How many editions of the India-Africa Forum Summit had been held before the postponed IAFS-IV?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Five

Q5. The 2026 Ebola (Bundibugyo virus) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is centred primarily in which province?

  • A. Ituri
  • B. North Kivu
  • C. Équateur
  • D. Tshopo

Q6. With reference to the 2026 Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda, consider the following statements. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus.
  2. It is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1976.
  3. Uganda reported imported cases in its capital, Kampala.
  4. A vaccine licensed specifically against the Bundibugyo virus is being deployed to contain it.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 2 and 3
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. The formal naming and classification of Ebola viruses into species (e.g., Orthoebolavirus bundibugyoense) is undertaken by which body?

  • A. International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)
  • B. WHO IHR Emergency Committee
  • C. World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)
  • D. Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)

Q8. Ebola and Marburg viruses belong to the family Filoviridae, which is best defined as which one of the following?

  • A. A family of filamentous, enveloped, single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses
  • B. A family of double-stranded DNA viruses
  • C. A family of retroviruses that integrate into the host genome
  • D. A family of single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses

Q9. Counting the 2026 Ebola (Bundibugyo virus) emergency, how many times has the WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) since the International Health Regulations (2005) came into force?

  • A. Seven
  • B. Eight
  • C. Nine
  • D. Eleven

Q10. Under the International Health Regulations (2005), the authority to formally declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern rests solely with which of the following?

  • A. The WHO Director-General
  • B. The IHR Emergency Committee
  • C. The World Health Assembly
  • D. The WHO Regional Director for Africa

Q11. Among India's external-affairs institutions, which one is the autonomous think-tank on international relations that had hosted academic events on the sidelines of IAFS-IV (subsequently cancelled)?

  • A. Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA)
  • B. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)
  • C. Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS)
  • D. Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA)

Q12. In the context of India's health diplomacy, 'Vaccine Maitri' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. India's initiative to supply and gift COVID-19 vaccines to other countries
  • B. India's domestic universal immunisation programme for its own population
  • C. The WHO-led global facility for equitable sharing of vaccines
  • D. An India-Africa joint venture for local vaccine manufacturing