Ebola Outbreak and Crisisactive

The WHO says that sequencing shows that the fast moving Ebola outbreak in DR Congo started about 3 months before the emergency was officially declared in May. Also, its crunch week for Zambia as voters gear up for elections. And a Rwandan mine has become one of the US's main suppliers of tungsten, a metal critical to the defence industry.

In Nigeria, people rescued this week after being held captive by jihadists are speaking out about their ordeal. On Thursday, security forces freed 308 people who had been abducted six months ago in two separate locations in the country’s northwest. The government described it as the largest single-day rescue operation in the country’s history.

The hospital: 'Checks initiated two weeks ago on the exchange of test tubes'

The error led the Region and the Ministry to stop the Assisted Reproduction Center

According to the Rospotrebnadzor, the test kit provides high sensitivity and specificity even in the early stages of infection

In a long-awaited operation, Democratic Republic of Congo authorities released 15 prisoners and handed them over to rebels from the AFC/M23 movement on Friday. It marks the first known prisoner transfer under a peace deal signed last year to end fighting in the eastern DRC.

Merck & Co.’s Ebola vaccine and an antiviral drug from Gilead Sciences Inc. are set for wider use in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to blunt the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.

Congolese health authorities were screening more than 300 people ⁠travelling on a ⁠river boat intercepted near Kinshasa on ⁠Thursday after the death of a passenger suspected of having Ebola raised concerns the virus may have spread on board, officials said. Authorities deployed a mobile laboratory to the vessel after it was stopped in Maluku, around 65km (40 miles) upstream from the capital on Wednesday. The secretary general of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry, Body Ilonga...

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ebola outbreak is spreading, with the number of infections rising rapidly. Declared in mid-May, this seventeenth Ebola outbreak has already claimed more than 1,700 lives. To address this situation, the World Health Organisation has called for an "intensified" medical response. Teams of doctors have been sent to the DR Congo, and specialised centres have been set up in the hardest-hit provinces while trials to find an effective vaccine continue.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic ⁠of Congo is spreading faster than efforts to fight it, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday. Families said many frontline workers in Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, have gone on strike over pay issues, worsening access to healthcare.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, pointed out that the Ebola outbreak is spreading faster than control efforts, as he warned during a visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This critical situation is compounded by some healthcare personnel in the country going on strike due to lack of payment. Almost three months after the outbreak began, the number of new cases doubles in some critical points, Tedros said after meeting with authorities in Kinshasa, the capital of DRC. This is the second time the WHO chief has visited the country since the disease was declared in mid-May. “We all agree that we must urgently and massively increase efforts across all pillars of the response and among all partners,” Tedros affirmed. According to the DRC Ministry of Health, until last Monday, there were 3,874 confirmed cases and 1,751 deaths. In Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, families report that the strike by healthcare workers has worsened access to medical care in an area already affected by armed conflict and remoteness, near borders with South Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda. Some employees began receiving payments last week for their work since the emergency started, but they are demanding better salaries. Anicet Baluku, a resident of Bunia, the capital of Ituri, blamed the strike for…

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned this Wednesday about the urgent and massive need to intensify the response to what has become the deadliest Ebola outbreak recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). "The outbreak is spreading faster than we can scale up our response, and new cases have doubled in some hotspots of the disease just in the last week," Tedros stated in a social media message. In his post, he also called for "urgent and massive intensification of all efforts, across all response pillars and by all partners." This involves, according to him, reaching "all affected communities despite insecurity and displacements," strengthening coordination under the leadership of the government, ensuring that health workers have the protection, training, and support they need, and accelerating access to healthcare, surveillance, and dignified and safe burials. According to the latest report from the National Institute of Public Health of the DRC, to date, 3,874 confirmed cases have been registered, of which 717 are in isolation or hospitalized. Similarly, the health authority noted that while 749 patients have recovered since the start of the pandemic, 1,751 have lost their lives due to the disease...

Fans gathered in Kenya to celebrate a genre born far away but that more and more Africans are coming to appreciate.

The head of the World Health Organization warned that "we must urgently and massively scale up all our efforts" against the latest Ebola outbreak, with new cases doubling in some hotspots in the past week alone.

New data suggests the death toll of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has topped 1,700, with health officials struggling to track the disease and identify how the outbreak began. As of Tuesday, the virus has killed 1,707 out of a total 3,802 cases, the Associated Press reported — citing a government update. Africa…

According to the statement, the outbreak is still expanding beyond the capacity of the response

Court cases over new lodges have raised questions about protecting one of Africa’s greatest wildlife spectacles.

Health checkpoints and surveillance aim to contain the outbreak and protect endangered mountain gorillas.

Uganda discharged its last Ebola patient from hospital roughly two weeks ago.

Uganda discharged its last Ebola patient from hospital roughly two weeks ago.

The current strain has so far killed 1,587 people, and there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment.

Internal Shell documents disclosed in an ongoing UK court case show the company kept a major Nigerian pipeline running for years, even though its own staff had warned extensive illegal oil-theft was taking place, which resulted in oil spills throughout the Delta. The papers were analysed in a recent report, published by Amnesty International and seven partner organisations this week, including The Corner House, Hawkmoth, HEDA Resource Centre, and SOMO. The case was brought by two Nigerian communities in 2015, Bille and Ogale, who have accused Shell and its former subsidiary SPDC of causing serious environmental damage. The account in the report centres on the Nembe Creek Trunk Line near Bille, a river town in the coastal province of Rivers State, which carries 150,000 barrels of oil a day at full capacity. According to the Amnesty-led report, Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), was exempted in 2013 from parts of Shell’s own global safety standards. The exemption let oil keep flowing through pipelines even though the company’s managers acknowledged these connections needed “immediate corrective action or shutting in of the line” because of the illegal theft taking place. Internal communications show that concerns go back even further. In 2008, Shell’s then technical vice-president for the region, Markus Droll, objected to keeping the pipeline running, telling colleagues that keeping them open made him “pretty uncomfortable.” Ann Pickard, then the regional executive vice-president, overruled him and also chastised him for not marking his objection as ‘legally privileged,’ which protects communications from being disclosed in court. She also said continuing to operate as normal was “the lower risk to both people and environment.” Speedboat gangs Oil theft in the Niger Delta has been going on for decades and has been hard to counter because gangs can use hit and run tactics in speedboats and disappear quickly to makeshift camps hidden in thick bush. Small groups of men drill a whole in one of the pipelines that criss-cross the riverine landscape and drain crude oil into barrels or tanks, which is then refined on-site or sold on the black market. In 2012, Shell staff visited four crude oil theft points in the Bille area. A report on the visit later described the “massive impact of oil theft activities.” By 2013, Shell had launched a working group with senior staff  codenamed “Project Madrid,” to decide what to do about the pipeline. One internal presentation asked staff directly whether they would be “comfortable to continue producing, KNOWING that further environmental damage WILL occur?”. The presentation also identified 100 illegal refineries along the pipelines and widespread pollution surrounding them, and said that shutting the pipeline down would cost $194m (€167m) the first year, amounting up to $389m if the shutdown would be extended a second year. Shell chose to keep pumping and only stop if leaks exceeded 250 barrels or more over a period of one month. But the internal documents raise doubt about Shell’s ability to track these spills. Internal audits in 2013 found former subsidiary SPDC didn’t have real-time leak monitoring across much of its network. “Only major pipeline ruptures would result in station trips,” the report noted. Separate Amnesty research has found Shell responded to spills more slowly than Nigerian law requires. Shell has long said its parent company played no part in operational decisions in Nigeria. But documents shown by the claimants’ lawyers cast doubt on that. They suggest senior executives at Shell’s parent company helped oversee Nigerian operations through a weekly “Crude Oil Theft Decision Review Board” that approved pipeline shutdowns, spending and risk levels. Avoiding clean-up The campaigners are calling on Dutch and UK governments to investigate whether Shell broke financial market rules by claiming that it and its subsidiary followed global company environmental and safety standards in the Niger Delta. It said this despite at the same time exempting SPDC from those standards between 2013 and 2016 so that oil could continue flowing through tampered pipelines. Shell finally sold SPDC to a Nigerian-led consortium, Renaissance Africa Energy, in 2025, avoiding decommissioning and clean-up costs which previous Shell estimates had put at $10.9bn. The consortium had no financial track record and needed Shell itself to lend it up to $1.2bn to complete the deal. Nigeria’s oil regulator had voiced doubts over whether Renaissance could cover the costs. But the sale went ahead after the country’s president intervened personally. Responding to the report a Shell representative said that it doesn’t reflect the “challenging operating environment” in the Niger Delta at the time. It said its former subsidiary worked with Nigerian authorities and local communities to clean up spills, adding that the company’s lawyers will defend the case “vigorously” at trial, whith hearings due to start in March 2027.

The disease has killed more than 1,500 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in just over two months, causing deaths faster than officials have ever recorded.

The current mortality rate stands at 44.2%

'Africa under the influence' (2/6). Sold at a low price, kush causes rapid addiction and severe, often fatal, injuries. Photographer Gaël Turine traveled to Freetown and Monrovia to document the destruction wrought by this new synthetic drug among young people in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s ongoing Ebola outbreak reached 3,262, its ministry of health said in an overnight update, nearly the same as the 2018-2020 outbreak that is the largest ever recorded in the country. Data from the Congolese health ministry showed that 1,437 patients have died out of the 3,262 cases, in what officials have said is the fastest Ebola outbreak on record, concentrated in the eastern Ituri province. The 2018-2020 outbreak that was recorded in Congo...

The Islamic State-affiliated ADF – the Allied Democratic Forces, formed by Ugandan rebels – is notorious for extreme violence against civilians and has carried out repeated massacres in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

The Ministry of Health of the Dominican Republic already has in the country 12 doses of the medication for children with spinal muscular atrophy and is advancing in a scheme of free coverage in the public system. According to the Presidency, it also completed the purchase of another 70 doses to sustain coverage throughout the year. The announcement was made during a meeting between the Minister of Health, Víctor Atallah, and parents of children living with this condition. There, the official explained the progress made and the measures underway to ensure timely care and therapeutic continuity. Atallah stated that the mechanism was achieved after months of technical, administrative, and inter-institutional coordination work. The goal, he said, was to ensure the availability of the medication for these patients through the state program for high-cost therapies. Distribution of the medication and specialist follow-up The minister said this is the first organized coverage for these patients in the Dominican healthcare system. The disease, the official communication indicated, has low incidence but entails a high economic burden for families. Atallah explained that the medication has already entered the national territory and that its delivery will be accompanied by the specialists who monitor these cases. He also stated that the measure is not the result of an improvised decision but of sustained work to build a lasting solution…

The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has climbed to 1,405, with confirmed cases now at 3,200, government data showed Sunday, as researchers race to develop a vaccine.

Greta Thunberg attended a celebratory rally organized by Indian students in London after major successes for the CJP movement. Follow DW for more.

DR Congo's Ebola outbreak has continued to grow, with confirmed infections reaching 3,200 and a fatality rate of nearly one in two. Scientists are racing to test the first vaccines against the rare Bundibugyo strain.

The case count climbed to 3,200 on Saturday from 2,344 a week earlier, while the death toll has almost doubled in the past two weeks to 1,405.

Cases surged by 1,000 in just just 10 days as outbreak continues to spread across five provinces.

The Bundibugyo Ebola virus takes its name from this small town, where it was first discovered in 2007. Now, the species has returned to eastern Congo, halting life on a busy border.

The Ebola outbreak that is devastating northern and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has so far resulted in 1,309 deaths and 2,973 confirmed cases, amid the difficult containment tasks due to armed violence that has shaken the area for years. The outbreak, declared on May 15 and caused by the Bundibugyo strain, has spread across the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo. According to the latest situation report published this Saturday by Congolese health authorities, a total of 540 patients have recovered since the outbreak began, while 766 people remain isolated or hospitalized. Additionally, 123 healthcare workers and other frontline personnel have been infected, of whom 36 have died, according to the latest estimate from the local Ministry of Health. Health authorities indicated that the outbreak continues in a "sustained transmission phase, with a high level of virus circulation." Ebola is a rare and serious disease that attacks the immune system, causing extreme fluid loss and often death. People can contract it through contact with infected wild animals, such as fruit bats, or by handling and preparing contaminated food. Unlike other viruses, such as Covid-19 or the flu, Ebola is not transmissible before an infected person shows symptoms, which can appear between two and 21 days...

The outbreak is spreading at the fastest rate ever recorded and threatens to become the worst in history.

Health workers at an Ebola treatment center in eastern Congo went on strike Saturday over payment issues, disrupting care for patients in the epicenter of the country’s rapidly growing outbreak.

The total number of Ebola cases stands at 2,973, with a case fatality rate of 44.0%

Beijing’s soft power drive to win African hearts through cinema was on display recently in Bujumbura, where Chinese dragon and lion dances merged with sacred Burundian drums to open Chinese Film Week. The Chinese embassy in Bujumbura, the economic capital of Burundi, said the July 15 event offered “a beautiful example of cultural exchanges between the two countries” and that both sides were determined to “make cinema a vehicle for Sino-Burundian friendship”. Zhu Kewei, China’s ambassador to the...

Every year, nearly 10 million people are diagnosed with dementia, a brain condition that affects memory, thinking, and the ability to perform daily activities. The World Health Organization (WHO) published the second edition of its guide to reduce the risk of developing cognitive decline and dementia, with new factors and a warning that reorganizes everything: there is still no cure, but almost half of the cases can be prevented. "Today we have more information than ever about what drives the risk of dementia, and these guidelines translate this knowledge into practical measures," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. The guide was coordinated by Indian neurologist Tarun Dua and Argentine psychologist Dévora Kestel. It involved the participation of 23 experts from four continents: the Netherlands, China, Qatar, Finland, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Brazil, Egypt, India, South Africa, Sweden, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, Indonesia, Brunei, and Sri Lanka. Factors such as tobacco use, alcohol, sedentary lifestyle, social isolation, air pollution, and diseases like hypertension or diabetes account for nearly 45% of the total risk of developing dementia. To create the guide, the experts evaluated whether interventions aimed at treating these risk factors also lead to a reduction in the risk of dementia. The new edition emphasizes…

A volunteer was injected on Friday with the first dose of a rapidly developed vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola driving a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Oxford University said. More than 1,000 people have been killed in the DRC and Uganda since the outbreak emerged in May, according to the World Health Organization. Researchers and health organisations have since been racing to get a vaccine or treatment for the relatively rare strain to the clinical...

The number of deaths in the current Ebola epidemic in the DRC has now topped 1,000, and the number of confirmed cases is around 2500. Experts are calling for more funding to help tackle the crisis as it becomes the fastest spreading outbreak ever recorded.

More than 1,030 people have died from an Ebola outbreak declared in May in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, as confirmed cases in the DRC surpassed 2,530, according to government data.

There are a million people displaced by violence in the epicenter. They live in dangerous conditions and are fighting the virus with very little clean water.

The Ministry of Health of the Dominican Republic intensified the "Win Against Dengue" campaign with actions that have impacted more than a million people across the country during 2026. The goal of these efforts is to strengthen the prevention and control of dengue, a disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, through coordinated measures in communities, institutions, and local governments. The strategy, which is carried out under the slogan "Eliminate, clean, and cover," involves Provincial and Health Area Directorates (DPS/DAS) to ensure active participation of the population. The Ministry of Health has intervened in more than 6,000 sectors and 502,228 homes in different regions, aiming to expand the reach and effectiveness of the campaign throughout the year. During an official event, the Minister of Health, Víctor Atallah, reaffirmed the government's commitment to public health and the prevention of vector-borne diseases. "Great actions or victories of a nation almost always begin with the small steps of the people, and well-organized communities produce the necessary changes," Atallah expressed before authorities and representatives of international organizations present at the activity. The government has deployed brigades that carry out fumigation, elimination of breeding sites, trash removal, and community education. These actions have enabled 17,047 fumigations and 318,569 actions…

The Ebola outbreak declared in May caused more than 1,000 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). A total of 2,473 cases of the virus have been confirmed in the DRC, including 999 deaths. In Uganda, 20 cases have been recorded, with two deaths, according to a WHO general report based on official data from both countries. The seventeenth Ebola outbreak in the DRC was declared on May 15 after several deaths in Ituri, a northeastern province rich in minerals and affected by armed groups. Cases have also been detected in four other provinces of the DRC. Ebola is transmitted through close contact and infected bodily fluids. In Uganda, most cases involve Congolese citizens who crossed the border. The country reports that it has gone three weeks without registering new cases. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently warned that the outbreak "has spread faster than any previous Ebola outbreak." Despite efforts, Thierno Balde, WHO official responsible for managing the Bundibugyo virus in the DRC, stated: "The outbreak is still ahead of us, and we are still in a phase of catching up." There is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for this outbreak. However, WHO has identified "encouraging progress," with trials underway on two possible treatments, a…

After 17 years, the Nigeria military’s efforts to contend a Jihadist insurgency do not seem to be successful. The military is facing fresh hurdles with foreign fighters, including those from the Middle East joining the insurgents. The foreigners are bringing skills and technology that have proved very valuable in the Jihadists’ fight against the military. Details by FRANCE 24 correspondent in Lagos, Sam Olukoya.

Authorities in Congo have said the latest outbreak of the Ebola virus has killed 999 people since mid-May. That fatality rate is far higher than in previous outbreaks. No vaccines or treatments exist for the new strain.

At least 999 people have died from the Ebola outbreak in Congo, according to official data published overnight into Wednesday, a grim toll in what has already been declared the fastest Ebola outbreak in history. The latest update from Congo’s Ministry of Health shows that as of Monday, 2,473 cases have been recorded in the latest outbreak, and 999 people have died. At least 737 patients were currently in isolation and hospitals, it said. The outbreak declared on May 15 is unlike most previous...

Ebola spreading faster than any previous outbreak in DRC, with 37 new deaths recorded over just 24 hours at the weekend.

The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern Congo on May 15 is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced this Saturday that the death toll from the Ebola outbreak has risen to 864 and confirmed 2,181 cases since the emergency was declared on May 15. Two months after the emergency began, the Ministry of Communication and Media of that country reported that the lethality rate is currently at 39.6%, based on data collected until July 16. The report indicated that 56 new infections and 36 additional deaths were recorded in the previous 24 hours. Additionally, 722 patients are in "isolation or hospitalization" and 412 people have recovered from the disease, while the contact tracing rate has risen to 66.9%. So far, the affected provinces are the eastern provinces of Ituri, the epicenter of the epidemic, Kivu del Norte, Kivu del Sur, Haut-Uele, and the province of Tshopo in the north-central region. "The response teams are strengthening surveillance activities, early detection, patient care, and contact follow-up to contain the spread of the disease," the Ministry of Communication stated. Uganda, where the epidemic spread, discharged the last Ebola patient who was hospitalized in the country this Thursday, after registering a total of 20 confirmed cases, of which 15 were considered imported from the DRC, including two deaths. Uganda in…

The aid workers were on the frontline in the fight against the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and have shown no symptoms, their employer said.

The United Nations sanctioned six rebel leaders and two armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, piling pressure on actors in a 30-year conflict that shows little sign of ending.

Second-quarter figure falls at low end of annual target range as monthly indicators have highlighted economic pressures

The World Health Organization launched the first clinical trial on Tuesday to test whether an antiviral drug can prevent infection in people exposed to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the outbreak continues to outpace response efforts and spread beyond known chains of transmission.

In tonight's show, a murder case making the headlines, a man is wanted in the UK over the death of his wife and two daughters. Also, the WHO warns the numbers for the Ebola crisis in DRC may be four times higher. And the Leopards' jacket a Congolese success story.

The outbreak, which has infected almost 2,000 people and killed over 700, could be at least two to four times larger than official figures, the UN health agency warned. The current outbreak is in the DRC and Uganda.

The true ​number of ​Ebola cases in Democratic Republic of Congo is at least double, ​and ‌possibly four ⁠times, the official tally, ‌the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. Official figures hold that the fever has infected nearly 2,000 people since mid-May.

Scientists in Oxford will start to test the world's first vaccine against Bundibugyo Ebola, as an outbreak of the rare virus strain continues to spread across Congo and Uganda.

In Nigeria, residents in the Niger Delta town of Billé have taken to the streets to demand government action over catastrophic pollution. For several months, the community has complained of toxic, flammable gas leaking from the ground, contaminating water and destroying aquatic life – which the people rely upon for their livelihood. It's the latest in a long series of environmental disasters in the Niger Delta, which have largely been blamed on Western oil companies. Report by FRANCE 24 correspondent Sam Olukoya.

In tonight's show, the Ebola outbreak spreads to two more provinces. A Sudanese court sentences paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo and 15 others to death in absentia. Residents of the Niger Delta town of Billé take to the streets to demand government action over catastrophic pollution.

A second U. S. citizen was diagnosed with Ebola on Friday and subsequently transferred to Germany for treatment, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The individual, whose identity was not revealed, is a humanitarian worker and was admitted to Frankfurt University ‌Hospital early on Monday.  “As infections among response personnel are not unexpected in an…

The ruling coalition said the hike is not only to fill a budget gap but also to protect public health. Meanwhile, another US national suffering from Ebola has landed in Germany and is receiving treatment. Follow DW.

A United ⁠States citizen infected with the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was admitted to Frankfurt University Hospital early on Monday, officials said. The ‌patient arrived at the hospital’s special isolation unit at around 3am local time after contracting the Bundibugyo variant of the Ebola virus in Congo, the hospital said. The US CDC said ⁠on Friday that a US citizen working for a humanitarian ‌organisation in Congo had tested positive for the Bundibugyo Ebola...

Two drugs are being trialled in the Ituri region in a programme set up just six weeks after the outbreak was declared, with hopes it will reduce mortality rates There is no approved drug to help the medical teams scrabbling to save lives in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – but there are hopes that could change within months as the first patients are enrolled in a treatment trial. It is a record pace to set up and start this kind of research, scientists said, with patients enrolled just six weeks after the outbreak being declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 17 May. Continue reading...

No new Ebola cases have been registered there for almost three weeks, the agency conducting the mission says

The American works for a humanitarian organization in Congo, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Since Ebola was first identified in 1976, the disease has been spreading faster than any of the Democratic Republic of Congo's previous 16 outbreaks. The government claims to be taking strong action, but many frontline workers have their doubts.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the “fastest growing” ever, African health authorities said on Thursday, as the World Health Organization said it had killed 600 people. Updated numbers issued by the UN health agency showed there have been 1,759 confirmed cases in DR Congo since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, including 600 confirmed deaths. “This is the fastest growing Ebola outbreak ever, not only among the previous Bundibugyo outbreaks, but all the different viruses...

Doctors and Nurses on the front lines of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola response have reached a breaking point.

Towards its widespread approval. At least 1,561 cases in Congo and Uganda

A French doctor who was the first-ever diagnosed case of Ebola in the country has made a full recovery and has been discharged from hospital.

Residents at the epicentre of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) Ebola outbreak are pinning their hopes on experimental treatments after researchers began a highly anticipated study in early July of two possible Ebola treatments in hopes of fighting the still-growing outbreak. At the Ebola treatment centre inside Bunia’s Evangelical Medical Centre, in eastern Congo’s Ituri province, the launch of the research was marked by urgency rather than ceremony on Thursday. As ambulances continued...

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported that the death toll has risen to 473, with 1,502 confirmed cases following the Ebola outbreak declared in the country on May 15. According to the latest bulletin from the DRC Ministry of Communication and Media, the fatality rate currently stands at 31.5%, based on data collected up to July 2. Additionally, 628 patients are currently in "isolation" or "hospitalization," and another 213 people have successfully recovered from the disease, according to the report released last Friday. Furthermore, authorities reported that the contact tracing rate stands at 81.8%, with more than 11,360 contacts under monitoring. “Care, laboratory, and community mobilization capacities continue to be strengthened, especially in Ituri,” the ministry added. The Ebola outbreak was officially declared on May 15 in Ituri, a province bordering Uganda and South Sudan and the epicenter of the epidemic. However, the outbreak has expanded to the eastern Congolese provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu. Similarly, the epidemic has spread to Uganda, where 20 confirmed infections have been detected, including 15 cases considered imported from the DRC, among which there are two deaths. The French government, for its part, confirmed that it has detected the first positive case of Ebola virus disease, corresponding to a...

Health Minister Stéphanie Rist has announced that France’s first diagnosed Ebola patient has recovered and been discharged from hospital.

A doctor who was being treated for Ebola in France after having tested positive following a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo has recovered and is out of hospital, Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said in a statement Saturday. It was the first time that French authorities had detected the deadly fever in France.

A shocking shift in the geopolitical and international security landscape has placed El Salvador at the center of attention for the United Nations (UN). According to the latest report from the Security Council's Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), at least 300 Salvadoran mercenaries have been recruited since July 2025 to fight in the violent and turbulent eastern part of the African nation, supporting the regular Congolese Army in frontline missions. The document reveals that what initially began as logistical support tasks in the town of Kisangani has escalated drastically. Salvadoran personnel are now actively deployed in high-intensity combat zones such as Walikale, Baraka, and Kalemie, in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika. The UN investigation details that the recruitment of these citizens was carried out through the Salvadoran company Importaciones de Productos Americanos (IMPROA S. A. de C. V.), registered under the names of two retired military officers: Colonel Juan Emilio Velasco Alfaro and Lieutenant Rodrigo Antonio Tejada Alvarenga. Although the company's commercial purpose does not mention international security services, it served as the logistical bridge to enlist the personnel. Most of the recruits are former Salvadoran military and police members on one-year contracts. They were promised an attractive monthly salary of...

U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White insisted Brussels’ Parc du Cinquantenaire was left spotless after his lavish celebration marking 250 years of American independence, as Belgian authorities probe whether fireworks damaged one of the capital’s historic buildings. “We are in immediate contact with the Belgian company that was hired to coordinate all event logistics, including the fireworks company,” White wrote on X on Friday. He said the contractor would “remediate where it is required” and insisted that “Cinquantenaire has never looked any cleaner than it was the day after we cleaned up after our event,” posting photographs of the park looking immaculate. More than 8,800 invited guests attended the June 28 celebration — one of the biggest diplomatic receptions ever staged in Brussels — organized by White, featuring a large fireworks display beneath the triumphal arch and a gala held in Cinquantenaire’s Royal Museum of Art and History building. The ambassador’s response came after Flemish newspapers De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad reported that Belgium’s Buildings Agency had opened an investigation into possible damage to the museum. According to the newspapers, inspectors found firework debris on the roof, scorch marks on parts of the building and minor damage to a statue. A spokesperson for the Buildings Agency declined to comment to the Belgian outlets on the scope of any repair work: “That will depend on the results of all analyses.” Belg…

The Democratic Republic of Congo has launched a clinical trial of experimental Ebola treatments as the outbreak continues to spread in the north-east of the country.

Attacks on Chinese citizens and businesses in sub-Saharan Africa tend to increase in the years following a rise in Chinese investment, according to a new study by researchers at the School of Overseas Security and Protection at the Chinese People’s Police University. However, the authors stressed that the findings should not be interpreted as evidence that Chinese investment itself caused violence. They argued that Chinese investment was often concentrated in resource-rich but politically...

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) raised the number of confirmed cases from the Ebola outbreak declared in mid-May in the eastern part of the country to 1,460 this Friday, leaving a death toll of at least 4യും 47, according to the latest report. The Congolese Ministry of Health indicated in a statement on social media that, as of July 1, the recovery of 213 patients has also been confirmed, while another 595 remain under treatment. According to the ministry, this reflects a fatality rate of 30.6%—a decrease compared to the previous day—while the contagion tracking rate stands at 82.7%. Recalling that the epidemic remains concentrated in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, health authorities specified that 54 of the new cases were detected in Ituri and North Kivu, which, they emphasized, "confirms the maintenance of active epidemiological surveillance." Given the situation, authorities in the province of Ituri announced a series of measures this week in an attempt to contain the spread of the disease, including a ban on the handling of corpses, the closure of public swimming pools, and the mandatory use of waterproof clothing, masks, and helmets for motorcycle taxi drivers. Furthermore, limitations were imposed on the number of passengers allowed in taxis, buses, and minibuses, along with mandatory hand washing before boarding, and rest...

The outbreak has now reached the northeastern city of Kisangani, with authorities struggling to contain the spread of the virus.

One month after Congolese authorities officially declared a new Ebola outbreak, the virus is still spreading in the east of the country and the death toll continues to rise. There are now more than 1,000 confirmed cases and more than 250 confirmed deaths. FRANCE 24's Aurélie Bazzara-Kibangula reports from eastern DR Congo, with Paula Séville.

If we don’t know the source, not only do humans remain at risk but wildlife can suffer needlessly via retaliation While virologists and public health departments were palpitating over the news of an Andes virus infectious disease outbreak on a cruise ship (13 cases, three deaths), in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the Bundibugyo virus, the root of the current Ebola outbreak (currently more than 1,250 cases and at least 362 deaths), was smouldering under the radar. Bundibugyo virus is a horrifying, highly fatal pathogen. Symptom onset is sudden and includes headaches, diarrhoea, malfunctioning kidneys and liver, and, less frequently, internal and external bleeding (hence the term “haemorrhagic disease”). Grimly, contagiousness remains after death, meaning the family and loved ones of the deceased can be exposed when they wash and clothe the body in preparation for the funeral. Continue reading...

Al Jazeera's Catherine Wambua-Soi reports from Bunia, on the front line of the Ebola response.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing a rapid escalation of the Ebola outbreak declared in mid-May in the northeast of the country. According to the latest official figures, the disease has caused 399 deaths and has reached 1,333 confirmed cases, establishing itself as one of the most significant health emergencies currently facing the African nation. The DRC Ministry of Communication reported that these figures correspond to the updated report as of June 29, which also accounts for 609 patients remaining in treatment and 189 people who have successfully recovered after contracting the virus. During the last day, authorities also confirmed 26 new infections and nine new medical discharges, while efforts to contain the spread of the disease continue. According to the official report, the fatality rate of the current outbreak has reached 29.7%, meaning that nearly three out of every ten people diagnosed with the disease have died. The outbreak is concentrated in three provinces The epidemic remains primarily focused in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, located in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where authorities have reinforced the response capacity of the healthcare system. Implemented measures include strengthening hospital care, increasing epidemiological surveillance, and intensifying mobilization campaigns...

Damien Mama, UNDP Resident Representative and Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said the consequences for the countries that neighbor DRC could reduce the continental GDP by $2.37 billion

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has raised the death toll from the Ebola outbreak declared in the eastern part of the country to 360, while confirmed cases have reached 1,274, according to the latest report from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP). With these figures, as of June 27, the fatality rate of the outbreak stands at 28.3%. Additionally, health authorities reported that 178 people have successfully recovered and that 502 patients remain in isolation or hospitalized. Contact tracing currently reaches 87.1%, although the INSP warned that challenges persist regarding early care and timely access to health services. The organization also alerted to the detection of possible new infections without a clear identification of their area of origin, which could point to a geographic expansion of the outbreak and require a more exhaustive investigation. The outbreak was officially declared on May 15 in Ituri, a province bordering Uganda and South Sudan. That area remains the epicenter of the epidemic, accounting for 91.4% of cases and 83.6% of deaths. From there, the virus spread to other eastern Congolese provinces, such as North Kivu and South Kivu. The epidemic has also reached Uganda, where 20 confirmed infections have been detected, including 15 cases imported from the DRC. Two deaths have been recorded among them. In parallel, the Government of France confirmed its first positive case of the diseas...

As more patients recover from the world’s largest recorded Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, doctors are beginning to piece together how the rare virus behaves, offering the clearest picture yet of one of the disease’s least-studied strains. The number of recoveries reported by Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) health authorities almost doubled in a week, rising to 148 on Thursday from 80 on June 18, even as treatment centres admit dozens of patients daily. ⁠The DRC said late on ⁠Sunday that...

On June 4, at a packing facility in Limuru near Nairobi, Kenya, avocados were being prepared for the Chinese market. The scene may seem mundane, but the politics behind it is significant. China has removed tariffs on imports from 53 African countries. African exporters are beginning to think about Beijing less as a distant buyer than as a market that could reshape their margins. When the UN projected 4 per cent gross domestic product growth for Africa for 2026, the figure landed quietly. No...

Frontline Congolese workers who conduct safe burials are key to containing what experts fear could become the worst ever Ebola outbreak. They risk not just infection, but the anger of terrified communities.

Our chief Africa correspondent, Declan Walsh, reports from a city where Red Cross workers carrying out burials in the Ebola outbreak have come under attack.

Nearly a year after the Trump administration shuttered USAID, its former leader Samantha Power sits down with David Gura on the Big Take Podcast to discuss the impact of those cuts — and what she wishes she had done differently. (Source: Bloomberg)

The Trump administration’s move to close the US Agency for International Development helped enable the Ebola outbreak spreading through the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, according to Samantha Power, who led the organization for almost four years.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is raising its Ebola response to the highest level, agency officials said Friday, as the outbreak continues to spread uncontrolled across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.  “Elevating the response level reflects the urgency, scale, and complexity of the outbreak, and allows CDC to bring additional…

There is a 70% chance that Ebola could reach South Sudan, according to a World Health Organization modelling study published on Thursday. Researchers said that preparing the country for a proper response is the “most urgent priority.”

The number of Ebola deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has exceeded 300, out of a total of more than 1,150 confirmed cases. This new increase in figures follows an alert from the African Union's public health agency regarding a 95% hospital bed occupancy rate in the country, raising the need to “build treatment centers and increase hospital capacity.” According to the Congolese Ministry of Communication and Media, at least 304 people have died from Ebola in the country, representing more than a quarter of the 1,155 confirmed cases. Shortly before, Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), had warned that while the outbreak has not yet reached its peak, 95% of the nation's beds are already occupied. “We must build treatment centers and increase hospital capacity,” he emphasized, in the face of an Ebola epidemic more severe than previous ones on the continent in terms of the speed at which confirmed case numbers are rising. In this context, Kaseya reported that clinical trials for two potential drugs will begin next week in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, which has been hardest hit by the outbreak. These include the experimental Ebola drug MBP134 and the antiviral remdesivir—the latter developed by manufacturers in the United States and Egypt—whose supplies and...

The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has exceeded 300, as the country steps up control measures to contain the spread of the disease, according to the latest update released by the government Thursday. The Ministry of Communications and Media said that 1,155 confirmed Ebola cases, including 304 deaths have been reported. A total of 138 patients had recovered, while 326 others were under care or isolation. A confirmed Ebola case has been detected in a French doctor who had participated in the response in the Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, the ministry said in a post on X, adding that health authorities of the two countries were closely monitoring the situation. The DRC has imposed stricter travel rules for people returning from Ebola-affected areas as part of tightened control measures. Under a decree signed by Health Minister Roger Kamba on Wednesday, health workers, laboratory staff and response teams returning from Ebola-hit areas must undergo 21 days of active health monitoring. During that period, domestic and international travel is prohibited. Anyone who has stayed in an Ebola-affected province may travel abroad only after spending 21 days outside the affected area. All outbound international passengers are also required to complete a health declaration form issued by border health authorities, with airlines responsible for verifying compliance, according to the decree. The outbreak, declared in mid-May, is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, for which no licensed vaccine or specific treatment is currently available. Travel suspension in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia on Thursday suspended travel by its citizens to the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan, and halted the issuance of all types of visas and the entry of travelers from the three countries as a precaution against Ebola, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The suspension also applies to travelers arriving via third countries who have stayed in any of the three countries within 21 days before entering the kingdom, according to SPA. Saudi Arabia's Public Health Authority said no confirmed or suspected Ebola cases have been recorded in the kingdom since its preventive measures were introduced. Funds for response The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Thursday that the continental Ebola outbreak response and preparedness plan requires $1.4 billion. "1.4 billion dollars is needed for the combined humanitarian and health aspects of the response," Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya said during an online press briefing. "If we don't have this, and if we don't resolve the humanitarian issue, we will not stop this outbreak." Recalling a total of $910 million in Ebola-specific pledges announced by African states, key multilateral and bilateral partners during an African Union-led high-level meeting last week, Kaseya noted that only 13% of the pledged amount has been released to affected countries and operational response partners so far. He said that early financing represents the most cost-effective public health investment, calling for an immediate release of pledged funds before the outbreak escalates into a wider regional crisis. The Africa CDC, shortly after the outbreak was declared by the DRC on May 15, appealed for $319 million in financing to respond to the crisis. As the outbreak expands, the Africa CDC and the World Health Organization have increased the financing requirement to $518 million to support African countries and operational partners in preparing for, rapidly detecting, and responding to the virus.