DR Congo Ebola health workers protest unpaid wages as deaths surpass 1,800

What the report says

Dozens of health workers in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, have stopped work to protest unpaid wages and bonuses while the Ebola outbreak continues to worsen, Al Jazeera reported on 6 August 2026. The workers gathered at the provincial governor’s office, saying payments had not been made since the outbreak was declared in mid-May.

According to the article, Ituri accounts for nearly 90 percent of the country’s Ebola cases. Government data cited by Al Jazeera put the number of confirmed cases at 3,973, with 1,801 deaths, making this the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record. Officials said 674 patients were in isolation, mostly in Ituri, and that about three-quarters of known contacts were being traced.

The report said health authorities are increasingly concerned that many new infections are coming from outside tracked contacts, especially in remote areas where conflict and mining-related movement make access difficult. Aid groups and officials also pointed to attacks on health workers and facilities, along with wider logistical and security problems, as obstacles to the response.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged support for responders during a visit to the DRC, while MSF warned the outbreak was spreading at an alarming rate and that the response was still too slow to stop transmission. Al Jazeera said the payment dispute highlights how frontline worker welfare may affect efforts to contain the virus.