UN Agencies Warn: Ebola Threat Persists in the DRC and Neighboring Countries

19 June 2026 Healthy wound

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of today, 896 confirmed cases of the disease have been registered in the DRC, including 232 fatalities.

Virus spread

The Director of Emergency Situations of WHO in Africa, Marie-Roseline Belizaire, speaking via video link from the city of Bunia in eastern DRC, noted that specialists continue to identify new cases of the disease in various regions of the country.

According to her, VOZ sent more than 115 specialists to the affected regions and delivered over 110 tons of medical cargo. Expandingdiagnostic and treatment capabilities, however, serious problems persist. In some areas, access for humanitarian workers is limited due to the security situation, and tracking contacts of the sick is still not sufficiently effective.

In the VOS, it was also noted that among the sick, 75 healthcare workers have already been registered, of whom 17 have died.

An additional difficulty is created by the fact that about 90 percent of patients do not have characteristic hemorrhagic symptoms. Many patients try to treat themselves independently or turn to folk healers, which leads to late detection of the infection.

Experts also remind that the body of a person who died from Ebola remains extremely infectious, therefore conducting post-mortems under safe conditions remains the most important part of fighting the epidemic.

Along with Ebola, other diseases continue to pose a serious threat in the DRC, primarily malaria, and the success of the anti-epidemic campaign largely depends on the trust of local communities in medical services.

Threats to women and girls

The Deputy Representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in the DRC, Noémie Dalmonte, speaking at a briefing, reminded that the Ebola outbreak poses a particularly serious threat to women. They are most often caregivers for sick relatives and make up a significant portion of medical personnel who have direct contact with patients.

According to UNFPA data, mortality among pregnant women infected with the virus in recent years reached 90 percent, and newborn mortality can be as high as 100 percent.

“Women postpone prenatal examinations, avoid medical institutions, or give birth at home even in case of complications. They can die not from Ebola itself, but because timely medical assistance becomes unavailable or causes distrust,” Dalmonte added.

UNFPA supports the operation of maternity wards, trains medical personnel in infection control measures, and provides institutions with personal protective equipment. In the eastern part of the country, with the support of the agency, 153 midwives are already working, and additional staff are planned to be sent there.

The fund is calling on international donors to allocate 17.1 million dollars to continue providing services in the field of reproductive health and protection against gender-based violence.

Population movement increases the risk of virus spread

The Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Allen Maina, in turn, reported that more than two million internally displaced persons live in the risk zone, including over 320 thousand refugees.

According to him, the ongoing armed conflict contributes to the displacement of the population and increases the likelihood of the virus spreading further.

Distrust towards medical services alsoremains a serious obstacle. After two deaths from Ebola in the Kpangba displaced persons camp in Ituri province, its residents temporarily blocked medical teams’ access to the affected area.

“Distrust can directly hinder the implementation of the most important measures,” Maina noted.

He emphasized that the risk of disease spreading outside the DRC is very high, since the region is closely connected by trade routes, family ties, and refugee flows between Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and South Sudan.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced the expansion of operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda. IOM representative Zoe Brennan reported that the organization has already conducted over a million health checks on people at border points and key migration routes in the countries of the region.