WHO Chief Arrives in Ebola-Hit DR Congo

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has landed in the Democratic Republic of Congo late on Thursday to support the African country as it battles its latest deadly Ebola outbreak.

AFP reporters confirmed that Ghebreyesus arrived in Kinshasa on Thursday, ahead of his planned visit to Ituri province in northeastern DR Congo, the centre of the outbreak, on Friday.

“I want you to know that you are not alone. Together, we will overcome this outbreak,” he said, vowing to do “everything in my power to help you.” Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on X ahead of his arrival, addressing the Congolese people.

To the people of DRC, especially to the people of Ituri

Jambo kwenu wakahaji wa Ituri

Mbote na bino, bato ya Ituri

My name is Tedros, and I am the Director-General of the World Health Organization (@WHO). But today, I am not writing to you as an official. I am writing to you… pic.twitter.com/RoXCWy50fk

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 28, 2026

The WHO has recorded 10 confirmed and 223 suspected Ebola deaths in the DRC since the outbreak was declared on May 15, out of more than 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases, according to its latest figures up to May 24.

This is the 17th recorded Ebola outbreak in the vast central African country of more than 100 million people. Complicating efforts to battle it is the fact that its epicentre lies in the east, a mineral-rich region that has been scarred by violence from various armed groups for more than three decades.

Uganda Intensifies Response to Ebola Cases (News Central TV) — A staff member checks a visitor’s temperature before allowing her access to the hospital in Goma, DRC. Credit: Jospin Mwisha / AFP via Getty Images

In the latest spasm of violence, the Rwanda-supported M23 has since 2021 seized swathes of territory, with fighting stepping up over the last year and a half. Tedros has urged warring factions to stop the fighting.

“Conflict and displacement make everything harder. I am making a direct appeal to all warring parties in this region: please, declare a ceasefire. No cause, no conflict, no grievance is worth condemning innocent people to death from a preventable disease,” the WHO chief said.

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