The DRC now has more than 780 confirmed cases and 180 deaths, while Uganda has recorded 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths.
On the ground, the response has broadened considerably. Some 400 beds are now available and four laboratories are operational.
Two of them alone can process nearly 1,000 samples per day. Yet despite this intensification, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that efforts remain far below what is needed to bring the epidemic under control.
“On a scale of zero to ten, in terms of what that response needs to be, I would say we’re at about three or four,” said Dr. Rose Belizaire, head of emergency response at WHO Africa, in an interview with PK Press Club. “The epidemic is evolving rapidly and all partners (…) must intensify their efforts on the ground in order to keep pace with the evolution of this epidemic. »
A month into the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, diagnostic capacity has expanded significantly. Four laboratories are now operational in impacted health zones, and two of them alone can process nearly 1,000 samples per year.
Eleven pillars
Today, when a person is reported as a suspected case in a community, an investigation team is immediately dispatched. If the alert is confirmed, the patient is referred to a transit center, where they await laboratory results before being transferred, if necessary, to a treatment center.
But the response to Ebola goes far beyond medical care.
“The response is organized around 11 pillars on the ground,” explains Dr. Bélizaire.
Community surveillance, investigation teams, transit centers for people awaiting diagnosis, laboratories, treatment centers, infection prevention and control and data management are among the many components mobilized under the leadership of Congolese health authorities.
The response also includes massive support for patients, their families and those exposed to the virus.
“We now have psychosocial support and nutritional support that provide assistance to confirmed patients, their families and the contacts we are monitoring, so we can take a holistic approach to this outbreak,” the WHO official said.
On the ground, this approach takes very concrete forms.
“Contacts receive food rations,” noted the epidemiologist. As for hospitalized patients, “they receive three hot meals a day”.
The response also includes infection prevention and control measures aimed at limiting transmission.
“This includes the disinfection and destruction of objects contaminated by the virus,” said Dr. Bélizaire. “It’s a whole piece of machinery that needs to be put in place.”
Medical equipment is incinerated as part of the response to Ebola in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
We have the expertise, the resources must follow
During a recent visit to Beni, one of the regions hardest hit by the epidemic, Dr Belizaire said she was struck by the level of preparation of local teams.
“I was very pleased with their technical ability to implement the response. They know what needs to be done. They also have the technical expertise,” she said.
What they lack, however, are the resources necessary to match their capabilities.
“What they really lacked was the means. They lacked the human resources, but also the logistical support necessary to put in place a solid response.”
Women on the front lines
The epidemic is also changing demographically.
At the start of the epidemic, men aged 20 to 49 were the most affected group. Today, women represent the most affected category, while cases among children are increasing.
For Dr. Bélizaire, this change is not surprising.
“During infectious disease outbreaks, women are usually the most affected. They are the ones who care for family members, their husbands, their parents and their children.”
A listening response
For the WHO, adapting the response to realities on the ground has become an essential element in the fight against Ebola.
“We try to meet all segments of the population in order to understand their needs and adapt the response to their reality,” explains Dr. Bélizaire.
During her trip, the WHO official said she met with a wide range of groups, including women, local entrepreneurs, motorcycle taxi drivers and community leaders.
Concerns vary from group to group. Entrepreneurs are concerned about the impact of the outbreak on their ability to earn a living, while motorcycle taxi drivers, who provide much of the transportation in affected areas, are among the most exposed.
“An epidemic always occurs in a specific context. We must therefore adapt the response to the real needs of communities and the realities of their movements.”
Refugee families in a camp for displaced people in the province of Ituri in September 2025 (file).
A porous border
This reality is particularly evident in the border region between Aru in the DRC and Arua in Uganda, where Dr Bélizaire participated last weekend in meetings which strengthened cooperation between the two countries and helped define a common action plan.
“When you look at the border, you don’t really see a dividing line or difference between populations,” she said. “The names are almost identical – Aru and Arua. This is because the same people live there and speak the same local language.”
“The interactions are extremely intense, whether it is commercial exchanges, family exchanges or simply human exchanges,” she added.
The two countries therefore agreed to deploy joint teams along the border, strengthen laboratory capacities and establish a processing center managed jointly by Congolese and Ugandan teams.
The objective is also to bring care closer to populations living on the Congolese side in order to reduce travel to Uganda for treatment.
‘I wanted to thank you’
Over the past month, Dr. Bélizaire’s long days have been filled with coordination meetings, field visits and discussions with affected communities. They were also punctuated by memorable encounters, and this week was no exception.
“While I was in a meeting, there was someone who was determined to see me at all costs,” she recalls.
When she finally went to meet him, she discovered that he was a colleague from the WHO. After exchanging a few greetings, he asked her:
“But Doctor, you don’t recognize me?”
She didn’t do it. He then explained to her why he was so eager to meet her.
“I wanted to thank you. Thank you for saving my life. You are one of the people whose actions allowed me to still be alive today.”
The man is a survivor of a previous Ebola outbreak in the DRC. Today he works as an epidemiologist for the WHO.
He also reminded her that he was among the first to raise the alarm during the current outbreak after a pastor informed him of a body bleeding from the nose and mouth at a funeral in Aru.
For Dr Bélizaire, this meeting illustrates how the experience acquired over successive epidemics continues to strengthen the response today.
“This might be my best payday this week,” she said. “Seeing people whose lives we helped save become my colleagues and work in the same organization as me. »
