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More than 900 suspected Ebola cases have been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as surveillance efforts continue to expand, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed.
In Ituri, one in four people needs humanitarian support, while one in five has been forced to leave their homes due to violence.
As surveillance efforts have been scaled up in the #DRC #Ebola response, more than 900 suspected cases have been identified so far, including 101 confirmed cases.
In Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, nearly 5 million people live amid ongoing conflict. Today, 1 in 4… pic.twitter.com/hgIydPGZxD
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 24, 2026
Ghebreyesus said the insecurity is making it difficult for health workers to trace contacts and identify new infections early, thereby providing care. Fear and mistrust in communities are also slowing down the response. Despite the challenges, WHO and its partners remain active in the region, including hard-to-reach and high-risk areas.
“The violence is forcing people to flee, including health and humanitarian workers. This is severely impeding efforts to scale up Ebola contact tracing and identify infections early enough to provide supportive care. Ongoing insecurity and fear are also fueling mistrust within communities,” Ghebreyesus said.
He added that the WHO and its Health Cluster partners are providing essential services such as maternal and child healthcare, treatment for severe malnutrition, mental health support, medical supplies, routine vaccinations, and care for survivors of sexual violence.
“Our Health Cluster partners are supporting the delivery of: maternal, reproductive, newborn, child, and adolescent healthcare, treatment of severe acute malnutrition with complications, mental health services, wound care, and support for survivors of sexual violence, medical supplies, routine immunisation, community health services”, he said.
WHO Chief reassured that the agency is keen on delivering comprehensive healthcare services, which is important not only for treating patients but also for building the trust needed to control the Ebola outbreak.
