Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), recently returned from a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the epicenter of the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak.
Ghebreyesus’s observations, shared during a media briefing on June 3, 2026, paint picture of unwavering commitment and a cautious optimism, even as significant hurdles remain in the fight against the deadly virus.
Ghebreyesus expressed profound encouragement at the dedication shown by political leaders, health officials, partners, and frontline responders across the affected provinces of
Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu.
“What I saw gave me hope, although challenges remain,” the DG stated, highlighting the collective resolve to combat the outbreak.
The situation in the DRC has seen 344 confirmed cases and 60 deaths. However, a positive development is the reduction of suspected cases from over 1,000 last week to 116, as efforts to confirm or rule out cases intensify.
In Uganda, 15 confirmed cases and one death have been reported, including a Congolese resident who traveled to the United Arab Emirates.
The WHO is actively collaborating with the Ugandan and the UAE public health
authorities for contact tracing and risk assessment.
Despite the progress, the WHO Director-General outlined five critical challenges:
Testing: The need to scale up laboratory and diagnostic capacity to expedite case confirmation and response decisions. Decentralization of these facilities is a key priority.
2. Contact Tracing: In the DRC, only about 45% of contacts have been followed up, far short of the over 90% needed to control the outbreak. Insecurity, displacement, and mobile populations complicate these efforts.
3. Travel Restrictions: Blanket travel restrictions imposed by some countries are disrupting supply chains, hindering the response. The WHO advocates for exit screening instead and urges the lifting of such restrictions.
4. Community Mistrust: A significant barrier is community mistrust, with some leaders even denying the existence of Ebola. Building trust is paramount to controlling the outbreak.
5. Lack of Vaccines and Therapeutics: The fight continues without these crucial tools, though clinical trials are being advanced rapidly.
Dr. Ghebreyesus emphasized that the ultimate solution to ending the outbreak is not solely biomedical, but rather hinges on leadership, ownership, partnership, and trust.
He underscored the importance of government leadership, community ownership, strong collaboration among all actors, and building trust within affected communities.
The DG also highlighted a broader concern: the risk of diverting resources from other essential health and humanitarian services.
The true measure of success, he asserted, is not just stopping the current outbreak—which the DRC, with extensive experience, is expected to do—but preventing future ones.
“If the people of Ituri survive Ebola only to die from malaria or malnutrition, or pneumonia or diarrheal disease or HIV or diabetes, we have not really helped them,” he concluded.
The WHO and its partners remain committed to ending the current Ebola outbreak under the DRC government’s leadership and to supporting the long- term health and humanitarian needs of the affected communities.