Ebola crisis deepens in Congo as angry locals drive health workers away from displacement camps

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Health workers are battling a critical Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, facing severe resistance from locals in a displacement camp where the virus has claimed its first victims.

In Kpangba, a camp housing around 30,000 people displaced by inter-ethnic violence, two deaths from Ebola two weeks ago prompted a rapid response to trace contacts and prevent further spread.

However, these efforts were immediately thwarted. Teams from the provincial health ministry, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other aid agencies were driven away by angry residents who denied that the two women had died from Ebola.

Jean-Claude Lonzama, chief doctor for the Nizi health zone, a densely populated mining area, confirmed the ongoing challenge.

“Up to this day, we are not able to follow up on the contacts of these cases,” Lonzama told Reuters on Saturday.

This standoff has left health authorities operating without crucial information, struggling to contain a potential surge of cases within the camp.

The Nizi health zone alone encompasses 22 displacement sites, home to approximately 81,124 residents.

Health workers have been driven away from Kpangba (Reuters)

Lonzama expressed grave concern, stating: “This is also our great worry because no preventive measures have been put in place in these sites aside from a few educational messages.”

Since the outbreak was declared a month ago, several treatment centres have been attacked by locals. This anger stems from restrictions on burying loved ones due to infection control measures, or a belief that Ebola is a hoax.

Aid workers fear the virus could spread rapidly in these camps, where hundreds often share a single toilet and open defecation is common, accelerating what is already one of the world’s largest outbreaks.

Across the three affected provinces – Ituri, South Kivu, and North Kivu – over five million people are displaced, all areas ravaged by decades of conflict.

The difficulties in Kpangba mirror a broader issue of deep-seated mistrust towards the government and external aid in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Attacks on Ebola treatment sites echo the widespread violence against health facilities during the 2018-2020 outbreak, which resulted in the deaths of more than 25 health workers.

The Kpangba deaths occurred on 31 May and 1 June, with details first emerging in a UN refugee agency report published last Thursday.

A Congolese health ministry report seen by Reuters revealed that the first victim, a 60-year-old woman, tested positive on 30 May but had already broken quarantine and could not be located.

The combination of public mistrust, critical equipment shortages, and ongoing armed conflict across affected regions leaves health experts deeply concerned about the prospects for containing the current outbreak.

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