Ebola outbreak ‘growing faster, ⁠⁠wider’ as DRC death toll passes 2,500: UN

What the report says

The United Nations says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is expanding rapidly, with the death toll now above 2,500. In comments reported by Al Jazeera on August 21, 2026, UN Senior Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis said the epidemic is spreading “faster and wider” and warned that the current funding available to combat it could be exhausted within weeks.

According to the report, efforts to contain the virus have been undermined by fighting in eastern DRC, weak state control, poor infrastructure and repeated attacks on health workers and facilities. Harneis said there had been more than 260 attacks on health workers in the previous six months, with eight killed. The article also said more than 160 healthcare workers had become ill and 43 had died. Aid workers have faced resistance from some local communities, where distrust and conspiracy theories have made public-health measures harder to enforce.

The outbreak began in May, and the report says responders are also contending with the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no vaccine. Safe burial procedures, vaccination campaigns and stronger surveillance are part of the response, though the article says insecurity is limiting access to remote areas.

The warning matters because officials fear the outbreak could cross into neighboring countries if the response is not strengthened. Al Jazeera framed the crisis as part of a wider humanitarian emergency in a region affected by decades of conflict.