Kinshasa (AFP) – The head of the UN health agency landed in the Democratic Republic of Congo late on Thursday, in a show of support for the African country as it battles its latest deadly Ebola outbreak.
Issued on: 28/05/2026 - 21:04Modified: 28/05/2026 - 21:56
3 min Reading time
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's plane landed in the capital Kinsasha on Thursday evening, AFP reporters saw, with the UN health agency's head set on Friday to travel to Ituri province in the northeastern DRC, the epidemic's epicentre."I want you to know that you are not alone," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, said in a message posted on X ahead his arrival, addressing the Congolese people."Together, we will overcome this outbreak," he said, vowing to do "everything in my power to help you."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.The true spread of the outbreak, thought to have circulated under the radar for some time, is likely much wider, the WHO has warned.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.In the latest spasm of violence, the Rwanda-backed 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," he said."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."Vaccine in the worksNo vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is behind the current outbreak.
