Congo-Kinshasa: Hunger Hampers Ebola Response As Cases Top 3,200 in DR Congo

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a UN News Service report dated 29 July 2026, reported that the World Food Programme is seeking urgent funding as worsening food insecurity complicates efforts to control an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The outbreak, declared in eastern DRC on 15 May, has infected more than 3,200 people, according to the report, and UN officials warned that hunger is making it harder for communities to comply with isolation and other containment measures.

The report said the outbreak is the largest recorded involving the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola and is affecting 48 health zones across Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo and Haut-Uele provinces. Ituri, described as the epicentre, is also a major hunger hotspot, with 1.9 million people facing crisis-level food insecurity or worse. Across the affected health zones, more than 2.65 million people are acutely food insecure, including over 628,000 in emergency conditions, based on the IPC food security monitor cited by the UN.

WFP said food support is part of the health response because it can help families remain at home, support quarantine and isolation, and reduce movement by people searching for food. Since the outbreak began, the agency said its UN Humanitarian Air Service has operated 495 flights, moved 3,395 humanitarian responders and delivered 56 metric tonnes of cargo. WFP has also provided more than 160,000 hot meals in treatment and isolation sites and food rations to tens of thousands of people.

The agency said insecurity, access limits, unrest and constrained capacity in newly affected areas are slowing surveillance and supply movements. WFP estimated it needs $293.6 million to maintain its DRC operations for the next six months, including emergency logistics and food assistance in Ebola-affected areas.