Some health officials have attributed the severity of the outbreak to aid cuts, with key supplies, equipment and operational support no longer reaching responders at the scale needed.A hygiene worker helps a doctor put on personal protective equipment before entering the Rwampara Ebola Treatment Centre to care for patients with Ebola virus disease in Bunia, Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, on July 13.Benediction Murhabazi / AFP via Getty Images fileAug. 3, 2026, 5:00 AM EDTDr. Sam Mbalivula has already lost one of his clinic’s nurses to Ebola. From his practice in Bunia, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s northeastern Ituri province, he has watched the virus tear through the epicenter of the country’s worst outbreak in years. Five of his fellow healthcare workers and friends in the city have also died, he told NBC News.Just a moment.We are getting your experience ready.