The WHO chief has called for a ceasefire in eastern DRC to address the Ebola outbreak, which is worsening amid ongoing conflict. There are 900 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths in the DRC as of Sunday.
Key points
WHO chief calls for ceasefire in eastern DRC
Ebola outbreak in Ituri province worsening
900 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths in DRC
Seven confirmed cases and one death in Uganda
Outbreak confirmed on May 15
Mentioned in this story
World Health OrganizationDemocratic Republic of the CongoIturi provinceUganda
The head of the World Health Organization has called for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to help tackle the Ebola outbreak there.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on social media that the region was in the midst of a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict with the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province outpacing the response”.
Tedros said on Monday that he would travel to the DRC this week.
As of Sunday there had been 900 suspected cases and 223 suspected Ebola deaths in the DRC and seven confirmed cases and one death in Uganda, WHO data shows.
The outbreak was confirmed on 15 May in Ituri, the DRC’s most north-eastern province, which borders South Sudan and Uganda.
Eastern DRC has a number of armed groups. Though the government still largely controls Ituri, insecurity had been worsening there before the Ebola outbreak. Almost 1 million people in the province have been displaced by conflict, according to the UN humanitarian office.
The outbreak has spread south to rebel-held areas of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, where the Rwandan-backed M23 group controls large swathes of the region.
Women wash their hands under temporary outdoor taps as staff in protective gear look on
A handwashing checkpoint in DRC’s North Kivu province. Photograph: Marie Jeanne Munyerenkana/EPA
Tedros said: “Stopping this Ebola transmission depends entirely on humanitarian access. Yet ongoing clashes are driving mass displacement, pushing exposed contacts into overcrowded camps and severing critical containment corridors.
“Frontline workers are risking everything, while attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible. We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling. We urge all warring parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire to contain this outbreak.”
Q&A
What is the current Ebola situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
As of Sunday, there are 900 suspected cases and 223 suspected Ebola deaths reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Why did the WHO chief call for a ceasefire in the DRC?
The WHO chief called for a ceasefire to facilitate a more effective response to the Ebola outbreak, which is exacerbated by ongoing conflict in the region.
When was the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province confirmed?
The Ebola outbreak in Ituri province was confirmed on May 15.
What are the confirmed Ebola cases in Uganda related to the DRC outbreak?
There are seven confirmed Ebola cases and one death reported in Uganda linked to the outbreak in the DRC.
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The response to the outbreak has been complicated by the transient nature of many communities in Ituri, where goldmines attract migrant workers, as well as by international aid cuts.
Philippe Guiton, the DRC director of the aid organisation World Vision, said: “For children, the risks are especially acute. Years of conflict have weakened community systems, and acute malnutrition has left many young bodies too fragile to withstand a virus as aggressive as Ebola.”
The response has also been hindered by attacks on health facilities by people wanting authorities to release Ebola victims’ bodies for burial.
Traditionally, burials involve families washing and touching the body. However, the bodies of Ebola victims are highly contagious and have been a key vector for spreading the disease in previous outbreaks in the region.
A nurse places a thermometer to the head of a child in school uniform, with two other children lining up behind
A nurse checks pupils’ temperatures at a school in Kampala, Uganda, on Monday. Photograph: Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images
On Saturday and Sunday, people attacked a hospital in Mongbwalu, in Ituri. Its medical director, Dr Richard Lokodu, told Reuters that 18 Ebola patients fled the facility on Saturday when “unidentified individuals” burned tents where patients were being isolated.
On Sunday, seven more patients fled and an individual suspected of having Ebola died haemorrhaging in the attempt, he said.
In Uganda, all seven confirmed cases were reported in Kampala, the WHO said. They included a driver who had transported another case; a Congolese woman who had travelled to Uganda for medical care; a Congolese health worker who worked with other Congolese people seeking healthcare in Uganda; and two Ugandan health workers who had cared for an Ebola patient.
