The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is grappling with a severe Ebola outbreak, with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating a death rate between 30% and 50% based on confirmed cases. Anaïs Legand, from the WHO’s high threat pathogens team, underscored the gravity of the situation, stating that up to five out of 10 infected individuals are likely to die. Since the outbreak was declared on May 15, the WHO has recorded over 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases, including 10 confirmed and 223 suspected Ebola deaths. Despite these grim statistics, a glimmer of hope emerged with the first confirmed patient recovery on May 27, discharged from a DRC health centre after two negative tests.

The WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, arrived in Kinshasa to bolster containment efforts and was scheduled to visit the outbreak's epicentre in the north-east Ituri province. Tedros emphasized that the disease "can be stopped" and reiterated the WHO's opposition to travel bans, deeming them ineffective. In a message to Congolese citizens, he pledged to do "everything in my power to help." The true scale of the outbreak is believed to be significantly larger, as the virus may have circulated undetected for some time. This marks the 17th recorded Ebola epidemic in the central African nation, where the disease was first identified in 1976 and has historically averaged a 50% death rate across all outbreaks.

Relief efforts are severely complicated by the fact that the outbreak is centered in a mineral-rich region plagued by armed conflict. Tedros made a direct appeal to all warring parties for a ceasefire, stating, "No cause, no conflict, no grievance is worth condemning innocent people to death from a preventable disease." The ongoing violence has led to the displacement of over 245,000 people from eastern DRC to neighboring countries since January 2025, with armed groups like the Rwanda-backed M23 controlling significant areas south of Ituri.

Ebola initially presents with symptoms such as fever, exhaustion, muscle pain, headaches, and a sore throat, which can progress to vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, rash, and impaired kidney and liver function. The disease spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person or someone who has died from Ebola. Currently, there is no approved treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is responsible for the current outbreak. However, the WHO's advisory groups have recommended clinical trials for vaccines and treatments, with the head of the African Union’s health agency, Jean Kaseya, suggesting a vaccine could be ready by the end of the year.

Regionally, Uganda, which has recorded one Ebola death and eight additional cases, announced a border closure with the DRC. The WHO, however, cautioned that such closures could increase informal crossings, making monitoring and containment more challenging. Internationally, Kenya's high court temporarily suspended plans to establish a quarantine and treatment facility for affected US citizens, citing "grave constitutional concerns regarding the rights to life, health, fair administrative action, public participation and parliamentary oversight." This move followed warnings from Kenya's main medical union about potential strikes if the terms of the agreement with the US were not disclosed. US officials had planned to make the 50-bed facility at an air force base operational, with 30 US Public Health Service staff deployed. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced a commitment of $13.5 million towards Kenya’s Ebola preparedness and had already pledged $112 million to the regional response, emphasizing the US government's priority of protecting American health and security by preventing the outbreak from reaching its shores.

Historically, Ebola has claimed over 15,000 lives in Africa over the past 50 years, with the deadliest outbreak in the DRC between 2018 and 2020 killing nearly 2,300 patients from 3,500 cases. In ongoing aid efforts, the WHO has received 4.6 tonnes of emergency supplies at Bunia airport in Ituri, while Unicef plans to send 100 tonnes of aid. This article was amended on May 29, 2026, to clarify that Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s comments were sourced from two separate instances: a message to Congolese citizens and a discussion with reporters.