The United Nations has warned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is spreading faster than efforts to contain it, with deaths approaching 3,000 and more than 6,100 confirmed cases recorded.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said humanitarian agencies and Congolese authorities had significantly expanded their response, but the virus was still moving at a faster pace.
“The response is growing and has been scaled up, but the virus is moving faster,” Fletcher said, warning that urgent additional action was needed to prevent further loss of life.
The latest figures reported by DRC authorities put confirmed cases at more than 6,100, with about 2,950 deaths as of Monday. More than 5,000 of the infections have been recorded in Ituri Province, one of the main centres of the outbreak.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, was officially declared in the DRC on May 15, 2026. The World Health Organisation said the epidemic had expanded to 60 health zones across six provinces as of August 26, with 5,794 confirmed cases and 2,786 deaths in the DRC at that point.
The WHO has maintained that the outbreak remains a public health emergency of international concern. Its emergency committee has warned that the epidemic could potentially surpass the scale of the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa if transmission is not brought under control quickly.
The response is being complicated by insecurity, armed conflict, population displacement, poor infrastructure and difficulties reaching affected communities. Attacks on health workers and resistance to some response measures have also hampered efforts to detect cases, trace contacts and safely manage patients and deaths.
The UN says a funding gap of about $1.1 billion is further limiting the ability of humanitarian organisations to expand surveillance, treatment, community mobilisation and preparations against cross-border transmission. Fletcher said more than $57 million had already been allocated from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support Ebola response and preparedness in the DRC and neighbouring countries.
Despite the worsening situation in the DRC, the UN pointed to neighbouring Uganda as an example of what rapid intervention can achieve. The WHO recently declared Uganda's latest Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak over after authorities successfully used rapid detection, contact tracing, isolation, clinical care and strengthened surveillance.
The International Organisation for Migration has also conducted nearly 23 million health screenings in the DRC and neighbouring countries to monitor population movements, identify potential cases and reduce the risk of cross-border transmission.
The WHO has stressed that affected communities must remain at the centre of the response, with greater investment in early detection, contact tracing, infection prevention, safe burials and accessible medical care. It has also called for sustained financing, secure access for health workers and stronger coordination among national, regional and international partners.
Fletcher urged governments and international partners to act with greater urgency, saying the world already has the experience and tools needed to control Ebola but must provide the political commitment, access and resources required to deploy them effectively.
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