WHO chief visits Congo Ebola epicenter as cases outpace response

May 30, 2026 - 22:18

The director-general of the World Health Organization traveled to Bunia in eastern Congo on Saturday, stepping into the center of a rare Ebola outbreak that is now spreading faster than local and international teams can contain it. Bunia, a city in Ituri province, has become the epicenter of the latest flare-up of the Zaire strain of the virus, which has already killed dozens in recent weeks.

Health officials say the situation is growing more urgent despite recent improvements in clinic organization and the arrival of new medical supplies. The number of confirmed cases has outpaced the capacity of contact tracers and vaccination teams, raising fears that the outbreak could slip further out of control. The WHO chief toured treatment centers and met with local health workers, acknowledging that the response needs to accelerate to match the virus's spread.

The outbreak is complicated by ongoing armed conflict in the region, which has displaced thousands and made it difficult for medical teams to reach remote villages. Neighboring countries have also stepped up border screening, but the risk of cross-border transmission remains high. The WHO has deployed additional epidemiologists and logisticians, but officials warn that without a rapid scale-up of community engagement and safe burials, the death toll could climb sharply in the coming weeks.