The World Health Organization has verified 81 attacks on health facilities since the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo was declared six months ago, with violence cutting responders off from more than 1,000 exposed people.
The figures, given at a WHO briefing on 12 November, show how conflict in eastern Congo is slowing the response to the country’s largest Ebola outbreak, while a separate UN-backed assessment found that 28.8mn Congolese do not have enough to eat.
What did the WHO say about attacks during the Ebola outbreak?
“Insecurity makes the response even more difficult,” said Dr Marie-Roseline Belizaire, the WHO’s emergencies director for Africa, in remarks in French reported by Actualite.cd.
She said an armed attack the previous week at a place the outlet named as Cantina Loya had killed 66 civilians, among them three health workers, and that three health facilities were looted. More than 1,000 contacts of Ebola patients had been lost to follow-up and three people with confirmed infections could not be traced.
Contact tracing is central to stopping Ebola, because each missed contact can start a new chain of transmission. The WHO did not say who carried out the attack. DNE Africa has reported a series of attacks on civilians in Ituri attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces this month.
How large is the Ebola outbreak?
Congo’s public health institute had counted 11,042 confirmed cases and 5,387 deaths by 9 November, a fatality rate of 48.8 per cent, according to figures carried by Congolese and international media. DNE Africa reported on 11 November that the outbreak had passed 11,000 cases.
Tallies differ between agencies because of reporting dates and counting methods, so the totals should be read as approximate.
Dr Steve Ahuka, the incident manager for the response in Congo, said infection prevention was weak in many private clinics in the affected area, which are heavily used. That gap “explains to some extent the high rates of community deaths”, he said, in comments translated from French.
He said teams were moving closer to health zones and working village by village, and that he expected these methods to bring the Ebola outbreak under control “in the coming months”. That is the response team’s forecast, not an independent assessment.
What is being done about funding and staff?
Medecins Sans Frontieres has questioned how money for the response is being used. DNE Africa reported on 12 November that MSF called for more transparency over Ebola funding, and the charity has also criticised conditions for local staff hired for the response, Actualite.cd reported on Saturday.
WHO officials said the response needed to work more closely with traditional healers and private clinics, and required safe and lasting access to communities.
How does hunger add to the Ebola outbreak?
About 28.8mn people in Congo face acute food insecurity, including 3.6mn at emergency level, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis, presented in Kinshasa on 12 November and reported by Radio Okapi and Anadolu.
The analysis projects that the number could reach 30.3mn, or 23 per cent of the population, between January and June 2027. UN News said war and Ebola were deepening the food crisis.
The two emergencies overlap. Families who have fled fighting are harder to reach with food and with vaccination or tracing teams, and quarantine measures can cut people off from fields and markets.
What happens next?
The WHO’s count of attacks will be updated in its next situation reports. Whether the lost contacts can be found depends on security in the areas concerned.
No date has been given for the end of the Ebola outbreak. An epidemic is declared over only after 42 days without a new confirmed case.
FAQ
How many attacks on health facilities has the WHO recorded?
The WHO said it had verified 81 attacks on health facilities since the Ebola outbreak was declared six months ago.
How many people have died in the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo?
Congo’s public health institute counted 5,387 deaths among 11,042 confirmed cases by 9 November 2026.
Why do lost contacts matter in an Ebola outbreak?
People exposed to Ebola need to be monitored for 21 days. If they cannot be found, infections may go undetected and spread.
How many people in Congo face acute hunger?
About 28.8mn, according to the latest food security analysis, with a projection of 30.3mn for the first half of 2027.
