The Director-General of the World Health Organization warned that the Ebola outbreak in Congo is highly complex due to conflict, insecurity, displacement, and public distrust in authorities.
On 29 May 2026, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the Republic of Congo. He stated that the latest Ebola outbreak in the country is extremely complex and difficult to control because it faces multiple concurrent challenges, including security conflicts, armed group attacks, population displacement, food shortages, and mistrust of health officials in some communities.
Dr. Tedros said he came to Congo to send a message to communities in the affected areas that they are not fighting alone and that WHO fully supports the outbreak response efforts. WHO teams are already working on the ground in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, which is the epicenter of the outbreak in the eastern part of the country. Dr. Tedros plans to visit affected areas on Friday to personally monitor the situation.
The WHO Director-General also called on all parties to cease hostilities in conflict zones to allow health workers safe access to patients and enable effective control of the outbreak.
Regarding travel restrictions some countries have imposed on travelers from Congo, Dr. Tedros stated that WHO does not support travel bans because they only temporarily delay the spread of the virus and may harm health systems. Such measures especially risk punishing countries that report outbreaks transparently, potentially discouraging timely disclosure in the future.
The Congo Ministry of Health reported that to date there have been over 1,000 suspected Ebola cases and at least 238 suspected deaths. The outbreak continues to spread across multiple areas in the eastern region.