Healthcare workers have initiated a strike amidst the surpassing of 3,000 confirmed Ebola cases in the devastating outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The current Ebola outbreak in the Central African nation has resulted in more than 1,000 deaths, reaching this grim milestone nearly three times faster than the previous epidemic from 2014 to 2016, which was the most severe on record.
Recent government data indicates that there have been 3,075 confirmed cases, with 755 patients currently hospitalized or in isolation, and the death toll standing at 1,354. At the epicenter of the outbreak, 100 workers at an Ebola treatment center in Bunia, Ituri province, went on strike due to outstanding performance bonuses.
Staff at The Elikya Ebola Treatment Centre protested outside the facility, demanding resolution of their two months’ worth of unpaid bonuses. Martin Bolombi, a striking health worker, emphasized the urgency of the situation, citing five deaths inside the treatment center and the need for immediate payment to curb the disease’s spread.
Dr. Adelard Lufungula, in charge of Ebola response operations, assured that the payment issue is being addressed. Workers will now receive payments through mobile transactions, aiming to clear the backlog in the coming days. In a separate incident, healthcare workers at Bunia General Hospital, the region’s largest hospital, also went on strike over unpaid wages since the start of the outbreak in May 2026.
The Ebola virus has now spread across five eastern provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, and Tshopo. This outbreak is fueled by the rare Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain, with a fatality rate around 40%, lacking a fully approved vaccine or treatment.
Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka expressed hope on Friday for new treatments to enter clinical trials in the upcoming months. Clinical trials for experimental vaccines targeting the Bundibugyo strain are underway, including human trials managed by the University of Oxford.
