South Kivu Clears Ebola As National Outbreak Remains Active

Kinshasa, August 12, 2026 - The National Institute of Public Health told a Health Ministry strategic coordination meeting that South Kivu was out of the Ebola epidemic after more than 42 days without a new confirmed case, while officials in the same briefing also cited 73 days without a new case in the province.

The South Kivu outbreak was declared on May 21 in Miti-Murhesa, in Kabare territory. Two patients cured at the Lwiro Ebola Treatment Centre were discharged on June 19 after the first confirmed case died shortly after admission. Much of South Kivu remains under Alliance Fleuve Congo/M23 control.

The national Bundibugyo outbreak remained active. As of August 10, authorities cited 4,449 positives across five provinces, 2,061 deaths and 886 recoveries, with 53 of 246 health zones affected. Ituri remained the epicenter, with transmission also continuing in North Kivu and Haut-Uele.

North Kivu continued to face health-system strain. On August 11, Dr. Charles Mbusa Munyumu, Butembo's only locally based neurosurgeon, died of Ebola at the Katwa treatment center. Butembo remained North Kivu's epicenter, with 220 of 325 provincial confirmed cases as of July 27, while Lubero health zone recorded its first confirmed cases from August 4.

Response measures expanded during the period. On August 5, a boat linked to an Ebola death arrived at Maluku port in Kinshasa from Kisangani with about 200 passengers under naval escort for screening and isolation. New treatment centers were under construction in Musienene and Beni, another was planned for Tshopo, and the United States announced an additional USD 242 million for Ebola response in the DRC, Uganda and neighboring countries.