WORLD · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
Ebola Outbreak in DRC Expands to New Provinces, MSF Urges Greater UN Support
WHY IT MATTERS
Without expanded UN support, the outbreak will continue to spread into poorly prepared regions, overwhelming fragile health systems and increasing morbidity and mortality across the DRC.
What happened
MSF teams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo report that the country’s largest Ebola outbreak is not receding but moving into new provinces. While admissions at Ebola treatment centres have fallen, the number of new cases nationwide has not dropped.
South Ubangi has become the seventh affected province, and North Kivu now accounts for nearly half of all newly confirmed cases, with test positivity rising sharply. Undetected transmission chains are already forming in major operational hubs, and the spread into areas with weaker preparedness poses a serious risk.
MSF is deploying rapid‑response teams to detect and contain new clusters, but the health system remains stretched by chronic funding gaps and staffing shortages. The organisation calls for a significant increase in operational support from UN agencies, especially the WHO, to strengthen all pillars of the Ebola response and enable rapid deployment to emerging clusters.
PRIMARY SOURCES
DR Congo: MSF DRC: Ebola teams warn of serious risk as outbreak spreads to new areas
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