Discussion - Ebola outbreaks 2026 (DRC & Uganda)

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Ituri -

More than 1,000 displaced students are exposed to a lack of water and Ebola prevention equipment in Bunia

Published on Fri, 04/09/2026 - 15:03 | Modified on Fri, 04/09/2026 - 15:06

Saint-Luc School, located on the Kigonze displaced persons site in Bunia, is hosting 1,100 students this year, more than three times its capacity. This overcrowding, combined with a lack of water and preventative equipment, is raising concerns about the risk of the Ebola virus disease spreading.

Radio Okapi reporters who visited the school on Friday, September 4th, observed that in some classrooms, nearly one hundred students were attending lessons in the same room. Up to four children could be sharing a single small bench, which complicates the implementation of preventative measures.

A lack of water and supplies

The school has some handwashing facilities, but its water supply remains insufficient. According to the administration, the school receives only two jerrycans of water per day, drawn from the displaced persons' site, which is itself facing a shortage.

Students are therefore unable to wash their hands regularly after using the toilet or during recess. The school also lacks a contactless thermometer and hand sanitizer.

Call for intervention

The school administration believes that these conditions increase the risks for students and teachers, while suspected and confirmed cases of Ebola have been reported at the Kigonze site.

She calls on the government and humanitarian partners to intervene to strengthen prevention measures and improve learning conditions.

Similar difficulties are reported in other schools hosting displaced children on the outskirts of Bunia and in several territories of Ituri.

The Ebola response team and the provincial government have not yet responded to these concerns.

Plus de 1 000 élèves déplacés exposés au manque d’eau et d’équipements de prévention contre Ebola à Bunia

L’école Saint-Luc, installée sur le site des déplacés de Kigonze à Bunia, accueille cette année 1 100 élèves, soit plus de trois fois sa capacité d’accueil. Cette surpopulation, combinée au manque d’eau et d’équipements de prévention, suscite des inquiétudes face au risque de propagation de la...

www.radiookapi.net

 

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https://twitter.com/x/status/2096813550140264505

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Ituri: Ebola response halted in Nia-Nia due to poor road conditions

22 hours ago RMBB Editorial Staff

The Ebola response has stalled in the Nia-Nia health zone, in the Mambasa territory. The severely deteriorated condition of the Nia-Nia – Bafwabango road prevents any intervention. The villages of Bafwabaya and Bafwabango are considered the epicenter of the outbreak in this health zone.

Medical teams are no longer able to access the area. The alert was raised by the chief medical officer of the Nia-Nia health zone, Dr. Joseph Pemanakue, who indicated that since Friday, September 5, the ambulance that was supposed to evacuate patients has been stuck in a huge mudslide, 40 km from Nia-Nia.

Health authorities fear the epidemic could spread further in this isolated part of the Mambasa territory. As a result, patients needing transfer to the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Nia-Nia remain stranded in the two aforementioned villages, and contact tracing has been interrupted.

To circumvent the obstacle, teams are attempting makeshift, extremely risky solutions, transporting patients by motorcycle. Another direct consequence: construction of the Bafwabaya transit center, being built by Doctors Without Borders, has been suspended. Materials cannot be delivered to the site due to the poor condition of the road. The area's chief medical officer is pleading for urgent intervention to repair the road.

“Our teams are having difficulty reaching Bafuabango and Bafuambaya due to the poor condition of the road at PK40, on the Isiro-Nia-Nia road. Bafuabango and Bafuambaya are the epicenter of the disease. We receive calls almost daily requesting ambulances to reach these areas, and we are struggling to evacuate patients. We can expect at least three positive samples a day from those areas. The fear is that if a case requires transfer to the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC), it will pose serious problems. Even for follow-up care, our teams here need to be able to regularly accompany the field teams,” he warned.

The Nia-Nia health zone, which has been experiencing an epidemic since June 13, has recorded a cumulative total of 232 confirmed cases as of September 5, 2026, including 73 recoveries and 160 deaths.

Esdras Kaghoma

Ituri : la riposte contre Ebola à l’arrêt à Nia-Nia suite au mauvais état de la route

La riposte contre la maladie à virus Ebola est à l'arrêt dans la zone de santé de Nia-Nia, en territoire de Mambasa. L'état de délabrement très avancé de l'axe Nia-Nia – Bafwabango empêche toute intervention. Les villages Bafwabaya et Bafwabango sont pourtant considérés comme le foyer de...

www.radiomoto.net

 

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Ituri -

Translation Google

Ebola in Bunia: wearing a long-sleeved polo shirt inside the uniform is mandatory (Parents' Committee)

September 8, 2026

Bunia, September 8, 2026 (ACP).- Wearing a long-sleeved polo shirt inside the school uniform is mandatory for students at a school complex operating in the Hoho district of Bunia in the Ituri province (Northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo), in order to protect themselves against the Ebola virus disease, the president of the parents' committee of this school indicated on Tuesday.

" This measure concerns all schools in the province of Ituri and was put in place following the expanded provincial security council which brought together teachers, educational structures, the provincial health division (DPS) and partners in the Ebola response, " explained Pascal Takaibone, president of the parents' committee of the Sainte Joséphine Bakhita school complex.

He indicated that within this Catholic school, the measure is already being implemented, with the support of the majority of parents, despite the reluctance of a minority.

“ Today, we observed that around one hundred students were not wearing their polo shirts. The school has already taken steps to compel those who refuse to comply with this rule, as it is a measure intended to protect all students ,” he added.

Mr. Takaibone called on parents to view this obligation as a collective protection measure, particularly for young children who tend to have physical contact during play.

" If you make your child in kindergarten, primary or secondary school wear a long-sleeved polo shirt, it is to protect other children. Even if you believe that your child cannot be infected, think about protecting those around him ," he insisted.

In addition to wearing polo shirts, Mr. Takaibone noted, the school under review is implementing other preventative measures, including temperature checks at the entrance, regular hand washing, limiting gatherings and respecting physical distancing.

" This is a requirement imposed by the provincial authorities. Wearing a long-sleeved polo shirt under the uniform costs nothing. Let's protect ourselves and respect the measures put in place by the health and administrative authorities ," he concluded.

ACP/MN

Ebola à Bunia : port du polo manches longues à l'intérieur de l'uniforme obligatoire (Comité des parents) - ACP

Bunia, 8 septembre 2026 (ACP).- Le port du polo à manches longues à l’intérieur de l’uniforme scolaire est rendu obligatoire aux élèves d'un complexe scolaire œuvrant au quartier Hoho dans la ville de Bunia dans la province de l'Ituri (Nord-Est de la République démocratique du Congo), afin...

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https://twitter.com/x/status/2099076410501472671

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Comment by Prof. Antoine Flahault (MD, PhD, epidemiologist, Université Paris Cité / Inserm & Honorary Professor, University of Geneva) under the MoH post above:

8:10 AM · Sep 13, 2026

 

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North Kivu -

Translation Google

Ebola in Beni: Households and health facilities vandalized after decontamination

September 15, 2026

Beni, September 15, 2026 (ACP).- Neighborhood chiefs in Beni, North Kivu, in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, denounced acts of vandalism perpetrated by malicious youths on homes and health facilities decontaminated after Ebola deaths, administrative sources reported on Tuesday.

“ We are saddened to see that a group of young people are attacking families and even destroying health facilities after the infection prevention and control (IPC) team has decontaminated households. Here in my neighborhood of Butsili, even when a family has called in the response team to decontaminate their home after a confirmed case, we regret that it is these young people who are destabilizing families after the IPC team has left ,” said Benjamin Kitsa, head of the Butsili neighborhood in the commune of Mulekera.

This basic administrative framework called on the population to become aware and on the security services to repress this kind of barbaric behavior so that the perpetrators are held accountable for their actions.

“ We are calling on our security services to apprehend these barbarians who are destabilizing families already traumatized by the loss of their members. Community leaders must increase awareness sessions so that every citizen is made aware of the danger of the 17th epidemic ,” he stressed.

Among the victims of this barbarity are the Maranatha and Amani health posts, two structures located in the Kasanga-Tuha health area, further west of the city of Beni, alongside hundreds of families whose homes were intentionally ransacked just because they were decontaminated.

ACP/ChK/kms.

Ebola à Beni : des ménages et structures de santé vandalisés après décontamination - ACP

Beni, 15 septembre 2026 (ACP).- Des chefs de quartiers de Beni, au Nord-Kivu, dans l'Est de la République démocratique du Congo, ont décrié les actes de vandalisme perpétrés par des jeunes mal intentionnés, sur des maisons d'habitations et structures sanitaires décontaminées après des cas de...

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North Kivu -

Translation Google

Ebola in Beni: Response workers demand four months of back pay

September 21, 2026

Beni, September 21, 2026 (ACP).- Response workers in the city of Beni in North Kivu in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Monday demanded four months of back pay since the start of their services to eradicate Ebola, during a demonstration organized in front of the health zone office, ACP observed.

“ We are demonstrating our discontent with the response authorities who are making us work. Currently, it has been four months without pay, even though the government, through the Ministry of Health, claims to have already disbursed all the necessary resources to fight Ebola in North Kivu. Today is the first day of demonstrations; we will continue until we are paid ,” declared Nick Junior, a communications officer for the response in Beni.

To express their discontent, the agents burned tires and held up posters with messages of indignation in front of the gate of the Beni health zone office.

No authority has commented this morning on this situation which is hindering the operation of this health zone.

The Congolese government, through the Ministry of Health, has launched the payment of bonuses to frontline workers involved in the response to the 17th Ebola epidemic since July 27 in Bunia.

This measure follows strike action and protests by healthcare workers and other personnel (epidemiologists, investigators, drivers, gravediggers) who denounced months of unpaid bonuses and difficult working conditions.

The Minister of Public Health, Samuel Roger Kamba, stated that the delays were not due to a lack of funds, while denouncing abuses linked to an "Ebola business" and manipulation of the lists. He also announced a harmonization of bonuses for doctors, nurses, and community health workers in order to eliminate pay disparities.

ACP/Ch./Kis

Ebola à Beni : des agents de la riposte réclament quatre mois d’arriérés - ACP

Beni, 21 septembre 2026 (ACP).- Des agents de la riposte en ville de Beni au Nord- Kivu dans l'Est de la République démocratique du Congo, ont revendiqué lundi, quatre mois d'arriérés depuis le début de leurs prestations pour éradiquer Ebola, lors d'une manifestation organisée devant le bureau...

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