The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a new Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment.More than 1,000 suspected cases and more than 238 suspected deaths have already been recorded in the DRC, while the disease has also spread into neighboring Uganda.Armed groups, population displacement and intense mobility around gold mining areas are accelerating transmission risks, says Dr. Macky Mbavugha of the International Rescue Committee (IRC).Mongabay spoke to Dr. Mbavugha about why it took so long for authorities to identify the rarer Ebola strain, and how USAID funding cuts have severely weakened disease surveillance, community outreach and emergency response capacity.
On May 28, 2026, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, sent an open letter to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo before traveling to the country for a field visit: “I am writing because I want to be with you in these moments. And I want you to know that you are not alone,” he wrote, before recalling his involvement during the deadly Ebola outbreak that struck the northeastern DRC between 2018 and 2020.
