One in three people in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak do not accept that the virus is real, according to a rapid needs assessment conducted by the charity ActionAid DRC across three health zones in Ituri province. The finding underscores one of the most intractable obstacles facing health authorities as they struggle to contain the 17th Ebola outbreak in the country since the virus was first identified in 1976.
Denial and Misinformation Fuel Crisis
ActionAid DRC’s survey found that only 64 per cent of those questioned believed Ebola was a genuine disease rather than something linked to spiritual or mystical causes. The disbelief is not passive. In the village of Lita, a resident named Ngone Ngobba Jean Claude told the charity: “In the community, people can’t bring themselves to believe in this disease. Some call it a satanic disease, while others believe it was invented to make money. Others say that doctors are lying, while others believe that taking strong alcoholic drinks makes them immune [to infection].”
Across the region, the suspicion runs deep. Pierre Basola, a 56-year-old resident of Bunia, around 30 miles south of Lita, dismissed the entire outbreak as a fabrication. “These people should stop bothering us. They just want to get rich,” he told the Associated Press. “Let’s not forget that Ebola is a white man’s invention.” He then ended the conversation abruptly. Aime Lotsove, a woman from Lita, acknowledged the rumours but urged prevention: “There are a lot of rumours here about diseases. Some say Ebola doesn’t exist, others say Ebola was created. I think what we could do for ourselves is to prevent this disease from coming here to our neighbourhood, because a cure is still not easy to find, but prevention is always better.”
The psychological toll is severe. Isaac, a teacher at Nyama Primary School in Lita, said: “Here, psychologically, we are very affected, very unsettled because as soon as one gets a headache, we think it might be the Ebola virus. Everywhere, we feel uneasy, both within our families and in the community. Everywhere, fear reigns.” The outbreak has provoked attacks on healthcare facilities in Ituri, with residents demanding the return of bodies for traditional burials — a practice that fuels transmission. ActionAid DRC’s assessment also identified significant gaps in school safety, a lack of personal protective equipment in community spaces, and particular risks for women and girls, including threats to sexual and reproductive health for pregnant women and newborns.
Outbreak Spreads Across Provinces and Into Uganda
The current outbreak was declared on 15 May 2026 in Ituri province, caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), a rare strain for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Previous BDBV outbreaks — in Uganda in 2007 and in the DRC in 2012 — recorded mortality rates of between 25 and 50 per cent. Patients have reported fever, headache, severe weakness, abdominal pain, vomiting, and in some cases bleeding. Existing Ebola vaccines, which target the Zaire ebolavirus, are not expected to offer protection against this strain.
As of 25 May 2026, the DRC reported 105 confirmed cases and 906 suspected cases, with 10 confirmed deaths and 223 suspected deaths. The outbreak has spread beyond Ituri to North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. Uganda has confirmed seven cases linked to the DRC outbreak, including one death, with infections detected in the capital, Kampala. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 17 May, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention followed with a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security on 18 May.
The military governor of Ituri province likened the struggle to contain the virus to “a war,” warning that people in affected areas were not receiving enough food and calling for a swift response to prevent “descending into catastrophe.” The outbreak is unfolding against a backdrop of long-running ethnic conflict over land and minerals, which has killed tens of thousands and destroyed many health centres, further straining a fragile health system. The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, is providing airlift support for supplies and ground access.
Local Beliefs and Aid Cuts Hamper Response
Deep-seated myths and suspicion are not the only factors undermining the response. International aid for global health has been sharply curtailed. US foreign assistance spending fell by nearly 57 per cent after President Donald Trump’s second-term administration dismantled the United States Agency for International Development, which had funded laboratory networks, disease surveillance and emergency response capacity across Africa. Earlier this month, the administration began plans to divert a further $2 billion in global health funding to cover the costs of shutting USAID operations overseas. Despite these cuts, the US remains the world’s largest foreign aid donor in total dollars and has pledged $23 million for the current response, with plans to fund up to 50 Ebola treatment clinics.
In the United Kingdom, billions of pounds are being cut from aid spending as the budget falls from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income, a move intended to fund increased defence spending. The reduction is projected to bring UK aid to its lowest level since 1999. Against this backdrop, the suspicion of local residents compounds the challenge. Saani Yakubu, the Country Director of ActionAid DRC, said: “We are not just fighting a deadly virus, we are fighting myths, fear and deep-seated suspicion.” He added that the charity is conducting awareness-raising sessions “to debunk a lot of the myths and misinformation” and encourage protective behaviour.
WHO Warns Epidemic Is Outpacing Response
The World Health Organization’s director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the WHO is “urgently scaling up operations” to contain the virus. But he acknowledged that “the epidemic is outpacing us” and called on neighbouring nations to take action, with cases already confirmed in Uganda. Dr Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, was even more blunt: “It’s so bad. It’s so bad.” The WHO and Africa CDC have launched a six-month Ebola response plan with a budget of $319 million, of which $265 million is earmarked for the DRC and Uganda and $54 million for preparedness in ten high-risk African countries. Experts, medical supplies and coordination systems are being deployed, but the absence of a licensed vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain — though research into a thermostable vaccine is under way — means the response relies entirely on containment measures, which are themselves being undermined by disbelief, violence, and shrinking international resources.