Story audio is generated using AI
By Constant Same BagalwaBunia — Dozens of Congolese health workers at the epicentre of the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record held protests on Thursday to demand their salaries, abandoning several health facilities even as aid workers warn that the disease is still spreading at an alarming rate.Confirmed cases in the outbreak reached 3,973, including 1,801 deaths by Tuesday, according to government data published on Thursday. It is the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, behind the 2014-16 West Africa outbreak that recorded more than 28,000 cases, including over 11,000 deaths.The health workers are protesting at the governor’s office in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, where almost 90% of the Ebola cases have occurred. They are the latest group to walk off their jobs since protests over pay issues started weeks ago.WHO chief visits DRC as the Ebola outbreak rapidly accelerates. He warns cases are spreading faster than response efforts can keep pace, while frontline workers on strike over unpaid salaries question whether they can continue working in high-risk conditions. pic.twitter.com/LBFfZxeEpC— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 6, 2026 The health workers, including nurses providing critical care to Ebola patients, said they haven’t received wages and bonuses for their work since the outbreak was declared in mid-May in one of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s most remote and vulnerable areas ravaged by rebel conflict.“With this way of managing things, Ebola will not end in this province. We ask the authorities to get involved at all levels so that a solution is found quickly,” said Edouige Makosi, one of the protesters.Welfare concernsOfficials have in the past blamed logistical issues for the payment delays. Congolese authorities did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comments on Thursday.Poor welfare for frontline workers has been a major source of concern in the outbreak. Apart from the payment issues, many health workers and facilities have been attacked by rebels and angry mobs.During his visit to the DRC on Wednesday, World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged authorities to prioritise care and support for the responders.The medical charity Doctors Without Borders said this week the outbreak is still “spreading at an alarming and unprecedented rate” and that the response, which has been expanding with more steps, “is still not reaching communities quickly enough to break transmission chains”.Government data shows 674 patients are in isolation, most of them in Ituri.At least 75% of contacts were being traced after their exposure to patients, the data shows. A bigger concern, though, according to officials, is that 60-70% of the new cases are coming from beyond those contacts, mostly from remote localities where rebel conflict and mining-related movements are limiting access.
