WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus arrives in Congo as ‘very complex’ Ebola outbreak outpaces containment efforts

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. His visit aims to bolster the response against an outbreak of a rare Ebola strain, even as medical teams on the ground grapple with severe equipment shortages, public mistrust, and active armed groups in a highly volatile region.

Characterising the crisis as a “very complex outbreak,” the WHO chief noted that heavy population displacement driven by regional conflict, alongside widespread food insecurity, is severely complicating containment strategies.

“To come here is to really show to the community that they’re not alone," Tedros told reporters at the Kinshasa airport late on Thursday.

“Pushing orders from my comfortable office in Geneva is easy, but I’m asking my colleagues to work with the community and I am asking communities to protect themselves,” he added. “That thing can be stopped,” he said, referring to the outbreak.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reported that three of its volunteers in Ituri died after apparently contracting Ebola while performing unrelated health duties on 27 March. This occurred more than a month before the earliest suspected fatality officially cited by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Despite an increasingly organised medical response and a steady influx of equipment, the virus continues to spread faster than containment efforts can manage.

According to data released by Congo’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (which includes the WHO), 1,077 suspected cases and 238 suspected deaths had been documented as of Tuesday.

At Rwampara Hospital's newly established treatment centre, operations are noticeably more structured. The facility has seen a boost in deployed personnel, stricter infection prevention protocols, and round-the-clock teams outfitted in protective gear—though new patients continue to arrive continuously. Similar operational improvements were observed at Bunia General Hospital, where new medical kits, emergency funds, and backup staff have revitalised frontline efforts.

“We are currently exploring the use of more and more drugs and compounds that can help save even more lives, because, as I’ve mentioned, this disease initially presents just like any other infectious disease we’re familiar with: dizziness, headache, fever, vomiting and diarrhea,” Congo’s Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said on Thursday night.

Medical workers have faced immense hurdles trying to suppress the Bundibugyo virus, a specific Ebola variant that lacks an approved vaccine or targeted therapeutic treatment. The shortage of basic supplies has been so severe that some doctors have had to wear expired medical masks while treating highly infectious patients.

To date, officials confirm that only one patient has successfully recovered from the disease. Geographically, the illness is no longer contained to Ituri; cases have now been reported further south in both North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.