Ebola Response Faces Staffing And Corridor Surveillance Gaps In Ituri

Bunia, August 14, 2026 - Ebola treatment has been disrupted at centers in Nizi, in Djugu territory, and Kasenyi, on Lake Albert, after health workers suspended work from August 12 over several months of unpaid bonuses.

The stoppage comes as national response teams try to expand patient care in Ituri, the main focus of the outbreak. The health minister has said the province accounts for 80% of cases.

At Kasenyi, about 50 kilometers from Bunia, a treatment center recently opened with Ugandan government support is operating at reduced capacity. Similar disruption has been reported at Nizi, about 30 kilometers from Bunia, where several Ebola cases have been recorded.

Civil society groups also warned that health screening remains inadequate on National Roads 4 and 27, key commercial corridors linking Mahagi, Komanda, Bunia and Kisangani. Limited checkpoints, heavy passenger and freight traffic, and reports of travelers moving from outbreak areas without prior screening have raised concern that the disease could spread beyond current hotspots.

For investors and operators, the outbreak response is a test of state capacity in eastern DRC, where health, logistics and security risks already complicate movement along strategic trade routes.