DR Congo’s Ebola outbreak outpaces response as health workers strike over pay

What the report says

The World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is advancing faster than the response, as the crisis deepens in the country’s east. According to France24 Africa, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said after meetings in Kinshasa that new cases are growing quickly in some hotspots nearly three months after the outbreak began. The agency reported that the epidemic was declared in mid-May and that Tedros was making his second visit to DR Congo since then.

The article says the hardest-hit area is Ituri province, where families reported that many frontline health workers have gone on strike over pay disputes, further limiting access to care in a region already affected by conflict and difficult terrain near the borders with South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda. Some workers have reportedly received partial payments, but they are still seeking better wages.

France24 Africa, citing government data, said confirmed cases had risen to 3,973, with 1,801 deaths. The report also said the outbreak is the second-largest on record and is being caused by the Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved treatment or vaccine. Aid and public-health agencies, including Doctors Without Borders and Africa CDC, warned that contact tracing and rapid detection are lagging. The US said it would provide additional funding for response and humanitarian assistance, while WHO called for stronger coordination, faster care and community trust to help contain transmission.