The head of the WHO is visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Friday, June 29, 2026, where health authorities are struggling to contain a serious Ebola outbreak. This difficult situation is somewhat alleviated by the confirmation of a recovery, the first since the beginning of the crisis.
Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa in the last 50 years.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus landed Thursday evening in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, and is scheduled to travel on Saturday, May 30, to Ituri province (northeast), the main area affected by the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC. This country, one of the poorest in the world, declared a new epidemic on May 15, affecting its vast territory of over 100 million inhabitants. The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a international health alert.
The virus, which causes a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever, is already present in three Congolese provinces as well as in neighbouring Uganda, where seven confirmed infections, including one fatality, have been recorded.
In the DRC, 246 deaths out of more than 1,000 suspected cases have been recorded, according to a report Thursday from the Africa CDC, the health agency of the African Union (AU).
International health authorities believe that the extent of the epidemic is still unknown and that the figures are probably underestimated, mainly due to the DRC's limited capacity to conduct laboratory tests to confirm cases of transmission.
"Even though the situation is complex, I think we can stop this."Mr. Tedros reassured the Congolese people on Thursday evening. In an open letter posted on X, he also assured them that they are not "not alone"On Friday, the WHO confirmed that on Wednesday in the DRC, "A patient has recovered and left the hospital." and was able to rejoin his community.
Since the beginning of this epidemic, the issue has been... "The first person admitted to a care facility to be sent home after two negative tests."Anaïs Legand, technical expert on viral hemorrhagic fevers at the WHO, stressed this to the press from Geneva.
Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years. The deadliest outbreak in the DRC resulted in nearly 2,300 deaths and 3,500 cases between 2018 and 2020.
Currently, 105 people are in treatment centers, stressed the Congolese Minister of Health, Samuel Roger Kamba, on Thursday evening during a press conference in Bunia, the capital of Ituri. "We need to put the alarmist cries into perspective."the minister criticized. "We are not in the same situation as it is perceived to be at the international level."he continued, before adding that"We cannot be told that the epidemic is out of control.".
Violence that has been almost uninterrupted for 30 years
In the remote Ituri region, however, state services are largely absent. The presence of armed groups, composed of ADF rebels affiliated with the Islamic State or community militias that regularly massacre civilians, makes access difficult.
The neighboring provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, also affected by the epidemic, have been the scene of almost uninterrupted violence for 30 years. Large swathes of territory are controlled by the anti-government armed group M23, supported by Rwanda and its army.
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Furthermore, millions of displaced people who have fled conflicts are crammed into camps. The arrival of the virus in these squalid spaces bristling with tarpaulins and tents, where overcrowding reigns and hygiene conditions are disastrous, would be catastrophic.
Dorcas Mapenzi washes her clothes in a basin placed directly on the ground. Like a million other displaced people in Ituri, she lives in an overcrowded camp on the outskirts of Bunia, the provincial capital. "If Ebola arrives, we will be exterminated because we are crammed together."she told AFP. "We sleep on top of each other.", describes Deborah Nzale, another displaced person. "If even one person is infected here in this camp, everyone will die.".
The current epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no specific treatment or vaccine. Most previous epidemics were caused by the Zaire virus, the only one for which a vaccine is approved. "By the end of 2026, the Africa CDC will ensure that we have a vaccine and a drug against Bundibugyo.", pledged Jean Kaseya, head of the AU health agency, on Thursday.
The WHO announced that its advisory groups had recommended clinical trials for several potentially effective vaccines and treatments against Bundibugyo. The health risk for countries near the DRC is "high," according to the WHO, but remains "low" globally.
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