EBOLA response workers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo staged protests this week over unpaid salaries and allowances they say are nearly three months overdue, raising fresh concerns about the country’s ability to sustain efforts against one of the world’s largest Ebola outbreaks as insecurity and public mistrust continue to undermine containment measures.
Dozens of health workers demonstrated on Sunday and Monday outside Ebola treatment centres in Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu, all in the eastern province of Ituri, demanding the immediate payment of wages and field allowances they said had not been disbursed for almost three months.
The protesters warned that the prolonged delays were threatening the continuity of life-saving operations at a time when health authorities are battling a rapidly expanding outbreak.
“We are facing an unjust situation that seriously jeopardizes the continuation of the response effort,” the workers said in a letter addressed to President Felix Tshisekedi, urging his administration to intervene urgently.
Tshisekedi has not publicly responded to the appeal. Congo’s communications ministry also did not respond to requests for comment.
Tensions escalated in Mongbwalu on Monday, where police dispersed demonstrators after the protest disrupted activities outside a local hospital, according to local authorities and one of the protesters.
The salary dispute comes as health officials confront mounting operational challenges across eastern Congo, where insecurity, armed violence and persistent community mistrust continue to complicate disease surveillance, treatment and contact-tracing efforts.
In Niania, also in Ituri province, a group of young men briefly prevented a helicopter operated by the United Nations World Food Programme from landing on Tuesday and hurled projectiles at an Ebola treatment centre, according to local civil society leader Samuel Banapia. Police fired warning shots before the situation was brought under control.
Elsewhere, misinformation has fuelled further unrest.
In neighbouring North Kivu province, rumours circulating on social media that health authorities intended to impose a curfew triggered protests in the city of Butembo on Monday, according to Katwa health zone chief Jean Mukoko.
Meanwhile, an ambulance dispatched to evacuate a suspected Ebola patient in Beni was vandalised on Saturday, a local health official said, underscoring the risks faced by frontline responders.
The latest incidents highlight the complex environment confronting health authorities, who are attempting to contain an outbreak that has spread rapidly since it was officially declared on May 15. Beyond the medical response, officials have repeatedly cited community resistance, misinformation, logistical constraints and insecurity as major obstacles to interrupting transmission.
According to the latest government figures released on Monday, the outbreak has infected 3,802 people and claimed 1,707 lives, making it the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded globally after the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic. Most infections have been concentrated in Ituri province, although cases have also been reported in neighbouring North Kivu.
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment, although clinical trials of experimental therapies and vaccine candidates are underway with support from the World Health Organization and international partners.
