27/05/2026
Ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is hampering the Ebola outbreak response, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is hampering the Ebola outbreak response, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the east of the country was at the centre of a "catastrophic collision of disease and conflict" with the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province outpacing the response.
In a statement posted on X, Tedros said the WHO "cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling".
He is due to arrive in DR Congo on today to spearhead scaling up efforts to contain the virus. There have been 220 suspected deaths since the outbreak was declared.
Tedros said stopping transmission in the region "depends entirely on humanitarian access".
"Yet ongoing clashes are driving mass displacement, pushing exposed contacts into overcrowded camps and severing critical containment corridors," he added.
"Frontline workers are risking everything, while attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible."