Please refer to the attached file.
On 15 May 2026, the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare officially declared the 17th outbreak of Ebola in the north-eastern Ituri Province, specifically in Rwampara, Mongwalu and Bunia administrative health zones. 1 As cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) multiply daily at alarming rates and spreading into Uganda, on 17 May, the WHO announced that the characteristics of the outbreak constituted “a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. By 23 May, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) added ten additional states “at risk” including Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Zambia.3 As of 29 May, about 906 cases are suspected and 223 deaths are being investigated, while experts note that official case counts are severe underestimates of the true scale of the outbreak. Women account for over 60% of suspected cases due to their domestic household responsibilities, including caregiving, burial practices and food preparation.5 Regional transmission risks are high given porous borders and Ituri’s role as a high-traffic migratory hub for transient workers in local gold mines6 and refugees fleeing conflict (especially from Rwanda and Burundi) along with Congolese returnees. 7 Currently, there is no licensed vaccine or approved targeted treatments for this more rare Bundibugyo Strain8 and, according to Africa CDC, global funding pledges to fight the outbreak were retracted by nearly 50% between 25-28 May. Thus, the response faces severe financial shortcomings and is primarily dependent on public health measures that are deeply constrained by preexisting social and structural inequalities, institutional mistrust, lack of appropriate equipment/supplies and significant barriers accessing affected areas due to the ongoing conflict compounded by Bureaucratic and Administrative Impediments (BAI).
The Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak is unfolding against a backdrop of recurrent violence (including renewed violence since late 2025), forced displacement, healthcare collapse and dire humanitarian needs with limited operational access.10 Conflict-related sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has surged and is characterized as a weapon of war, while support mechanisms to survivors have significantly reduced.11 The volatility of the protracted conflict also strangles economic pathways, constrains markets and limits safe movement, leaving civilians unable to meet their basic needs and driving poverty rates. For example, over 10 million people in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika-representing about one-third of the local population — are expected to face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse, unable to meet their basic food needs. Ituri Province is currently one of DRC’s most severely food-insecure hotspots, with more than a third of the population (or 1.7 million people) facing crisis or worse hunger levels.13 Displaced women, widows, and female-headed households are disproportionately affected, often facing elevated risks of violence when traveling to secure food or access farmlands.
Malnutrition and chronic undernutrition among children are also widespread. Nearly half of all children under five are stunted, with increased rates in the eastern provinces where limited dietary diversity, fragmented healthcare and recurring disease outbreaks continue to exacerbate the situation.
Additionally, DRC holds one of the largest IDP populations in Africa with a majority concentrated in the affected North Eastern Provinces and about one million IDPs in Ituri, where the outbreak is currently most concentrated. 15,16 Due to the sensitive security challenges linked to multiple armed and inter-communal conflicts, safe humanitarian access, transportation routes and communications infrastructure are very poor creating significant operational limitations for the Ebola response. Safety and protection conditions for women and girls as refugees, IDPs and in host communities are particularly dire in light of rampant human rights’ violations ranging from extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, recruitment of children by armed groups, attacks on basic social services, abductions, forced labor, widespread gender-based violence (GBV) violations, early and forced marriage, forced pregnancy and various other forms of sexual violence, including as a weapon of war as mentioned above. Nationally, 57% of refugees are children and 52% are women and girls and concentrated primarily in the eastern provinces; IDP sex and age disaggregated data is not available but it is estimated that about 60% of IDPs are children, over 50% are women, between 2% and 4% are elderly and about 15% are persons living with disabilities.