Richard Mbagaro, a supervisor at the Kigonze camp for the internally displaced persons, speaks on a megaphone, urging residents to wash their hands with soap or ash as fears grow over the spread of Ebola on May 25, 2026. Authorities have been intensify efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo.
False beliefs about Ebola and rising case numbers are compounding the humanitarian crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where conflict, displacement and public mistrust are undermining efforts to contain the outbreak.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Sunday that the response to the Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province could help contain the deadly disease, but warned that the crisis was deepening humanitarian suffering in a region already scarred by years of war.
