The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has arrived in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to assess response efforts to a severe Ebola outbreak that has already spread across multiple provinces and into neighbouring Uganda.
An AFP journalist reported that Tedros landed in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province—currently the worst-affected area—on Saturday, where he met local officials and health responders.
Speaking to reporters, Tedros said the international community was supporting the DRC government in containing the outbreak but stressed the importance of community involvement in the response.
“We are here to discuss with the community, to see how the response is running and if there are challenges to help,” he said.
The Ebola virus, a highly contagious haemorrhagic fever, has now been confirmed in at least three eastern DRC provinces and in Uganda, where nine cases, including one death, have been recorded.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the DRC has recorded at least 1,077 suspected cases and 246 deaths since the outbreak was declared on May 15.
Health authorities and the WHO have warned that the true scale of the outbreak may be larger due to limited testing capacity in the conflict-affected region.
The situation is further complicated by ongoing insecurity in eastern DRC, where armed groups, including Islamic State-affiliated militants and other militias, continue to operate, limiting humanitarian access.
Millions of displaced people are living in overcrowded camps with poor sanitation, raising fears of rapid disease transmission.
Uganda has responded by closing its border with the DRC and imposing a 21-day quarantine for arrivals from the country.
On Friday, the WHO confirmed that one patient had recovered and been discharged after testing negative twice, marking the first known recovery in the current outbreak.
The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, responsible for the outbreak, has no specific treatment, though health officials say a vaccine could be available by the end of the year.
The epidemic has raised alarm among aid agencies, with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warning that case numbers are rising unusually fast in the early phase of the outbreak, while calling for more medical personnel in the region.
Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa over the past five decades, with the deadliest outbreak in the DRC between 2018 and 2020 claiming nearly 2,300 lives.
