DRC Ebola Cases Near 2018–2020 Outbreak Total in Just Over Ten Weeks as Insecurity Disrupts Response in Ituri

July 28, 2026

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached 3,200 confirmed cases and more than 1,400 deaths in just over ten weeks, already at 96% of the cases reported during the entire 2018–2020 DRC outbreak. 

Ongoing insecurity, mistrust, and serious gaps in essential healthcare, water, and sanitation continue to interrupt response and containment efforts, delay treatment, and prevent lifesaving support from reaching people. Response teams are finding it increasingly difficult to reach communities safely, consistently, and early enough.

Following an incident in Nyakunde Health Zone in mid-July, Mercy Corps and its local partners temporarily suspended in-person activities in and around Nyakunde. The unrest followed the death of a pregnant woman after the local health facility was unable to provide the care she needed. The protests disrupted Ebola response activities, including community engagement and water and sanitation support, such as the installation and maintenance of handwashing stations and water-storage facilities. 

The nearly two-week suspension interrupted Ebola response activities that would normally reach more than 1,800 people each week, including community engagement and infection-prevention messaging, mental health and psychosocial support, and follow-up for suspected cases. Mercy Corps’ Ebola response continues in other locations where teams can operate safely.

Onesphore Bangenza, Mercy Corps Ebola Response Team Leader in Bunia, says:

“The fact that, in just ten weeks, we have reached nearly the same number of cases recorded over an almost two-year outbreak is alarming and should stop us in our tracks. There is no doubt that the virus is moving faster than we can contain it.

“We have seen a real improvement in people’s understanding of Ebola over the past month, but those gains are fragile. When basic healthcare is unavailable, insecurity interrupts humanitarian assistance, or essential prevention infrastructure is lost, frustration, rumors, and fear can quickly resurface. Every interruption risks undoing hard-won gains and giving the virus more room to spread.

“Frontline health workers, safe and dignified burial teams, and local responders must be able to work safely and have the resources to respond to what people need. That requires urgent, flexible funding that reaches communities, as well as protection for the people delivering the response. Without safe access, reliable basic services, and stronger community trust, transmission will continue to outpace the response.”

In response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak, Mercy Corps has scaled up its activities to complement the government-led response in Bunia and Rwampara and is preparing to expand its response into other health zones. Teams are supporting community engagement, water and sanitation services—including water trucking and handwashing facilities in public spaces—infection prevention, risk communication through local radio, and psychosocial support for affected families, while integrating protection and conflict mitigation throughout the response.

Since 2007, Mercy Corps has supported communities in the DRC by improving access to clean water and sanitation, strengthening livelihoods, promoting good governance, and enhancing emergency response.

Notes to editors

  • The 2018–2020 DRC Ebola outbreak lasted 694 days and recorded 3,323 confirmed cases, 3,481 confirmed and probable cases combined, and 2,299 deaths.
  • The temporary suspension of Mercy Corps’ Ebola response activities in Nyakunde and surrounding areas affected services that would normally reach more than 1,800 people each week, including:
    • Ebola risk communication and prevention messaging for nearly 900 people through community relays.
    • Mental health and psychosocial-support awareness sessions for 750 people.
    • Eight group-psychotherapy sessions supporting more than 100 people bereaved by Ebola or experiencing Ebola-related trauma in Nyakunde and Sota.
    • Psychological support for patients admitted to Ebola treatment centres in Nyakunde and Sota.
    • Follow-up and accompaniment for nearly 100 suspected Ebola cases in Nyakunde and Sota.
  • Separately, two Mercy Corps handwashing stations were destroyed in Lengabo village, and two 240-liter water tanks were removed.
  • Mercy Corps' Ebola response continues in other locations where teams can operate safely.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact: