Congo-Kinshasa: More Health Workers Strike As Ebola Cases in Congo Near 3,000, Including Over 1,300 Deaths

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Radio France Internationale report, says staff at the Elikya Ebola Treatment Centre in Bunia, Ituri province, stopped work on Saturday in a dispute over pay, slowing operations at a key facility in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. About 100 doctors, nurses and security personnel reportedly protested outside the centre, saying unpaid performance bonuses had hurt morale and patient care. Staff said in a Friday statement that they would remain on strike until practical steps were taken to resolve two months of arrears.

The strike comes as government figures released Friday put confirmed Ebola cases at 2,973, with 1,309 deaths. The Health Ministry data cited in the report also listed 766 patients in isolation or hospital and 540 recoveries. Ituri accounts for nearly 90% of confirmed infections, making disruption in Bunia especially significant for the response.

RFI reported that the labor action follows a separate strike last week at Bunia General Hospital, the region’s largest medical centre, also linked to unpaid wages. The World Health Organization says more than 100 healthcare workers have been infected since the outbreak began. The DRC has been dealing with this outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, since 15 May.

The report says response teams are facing multiple obstacles, including conflict-driven displacement, mining-related population movement, attacks on health facilities, funding shortages and public mistrust. Authorities have not identified the index case, complicating contact tracing. Unlike the more common Zaire Ebola strain, Bundibugyo has no approved vaccine or treatment, though enrolment has begun in an Ituri study of two possible therapies. WHO assesses the global risk beyond Central Africa as low because Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, not through the air.