Health workers at an Ebola treatment centre in Bunia, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s hardest-hit province, say they are facing infection risks while missing wages as confirmed cases continue to rise.
More than 2,500 people have died in the outbreak, which has spread to six of the country’s 26 provinces. Julien Harneis, the senior UN Ebola coordinator, said the outbreak was growing faster and wider than the response and that available funds could run out within weeks.
Frontline staff report unpaid wages and pressure
Sophie Mwadawa Kabundo, a nurse at the Elikya treatment centre, said she feared contracting Ebola and passing it to her family and friends. She said some colleagues had died and warned that workplace accidents could put staff at greater risk as patients continued to arrive.
Martin Bolombi, a hygiene worker at the same centre, said he had worked since May but had been paid only for June. He was among about 100 people who protested outside the centre during a strike last month over unpaid bonuses. Bolombi said he was working seven days a week with little time for his family.
Related coverage: DR Congo’s Ebola outbreak passes the country’s previous death toll.
The outbreak is concentrated in the north-east
Ituri province, whose capital is Bunia, has more than 4,200 confirmed cases and borders Uganda and South Sudan. Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths, all in Kampala, before the government declared the country Ebola-free on 28 July after the last patient was discharged on 16 July.
The World Health Organization estimates the outbreak could exceed the 2014–16 Ebola outbreak in west Africa, which recorded more than 28,600 cases and 11,325 deaths across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The current infections involve the rare Bundibugyo species; no treatments or vaccines are approved for that strain, although trials are under way.
Mistrust and shortages complicate containment
Harneis said 160 healthcare workers had fallen ill with Ebola and 43 had died. He called for more aid as the response faced growing needs in an area affected by three decades of conflict, while workers said logistics had improved but remained inadequate.
More context: Ebola deaths in DRC surpass toll from 2018–20 outbreak.
Misinformation and fear have led some people with suspected infections to delay seeking care, according to Dr Eddy Kambale Kahandukya, a deputy medical coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières in the DRC. He said people awaiting laboratory results had sometimes sought refuge in communities, creating new clusters, while attacks on health facilities and ambulances also hindered the response.
The WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in May, but later said sequencing indicated it had begun months earlier, in February. The Congolese health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Also read: WHO warns DR Congo Ebola crisis is spreading beyond containment.
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