The Ebola outbreak in the DRC is testing health coordination in the east, as the EAC strengthens regional preparedness against high-risk infectious diseases.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a major outbreak of Ebola virus disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, declared on May 15, 2026. It is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the country.
By mid-September, available data showed thousands of confirmed cases and thousands of deaths. Ituri remains one of the main centres of transmission, while new cases have also been reported in North Kivu and other provinces.
The outbreak is unfolding amid a complex situation in eastern DRC. Parts of North Kivu and South Kivu are controlled by the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), whose main armed component is the M23, while the government in Kinshasa controls other territories.
This administrative fragmentation complicates the coordination of the health response. Patients, traders and transporters continue to cross between different areas, while health systems are administered by different authorities.
Different health responses across territories
In areas controlled by Kinshasa, Congolese authorities are working with the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa CDC, Médecins Sans Frontières and other partners to strengthen treatment centres, surveillance and contact tracing.
In areas controlled by the AFC/M23, de facto authorities also established their own response after cases were detected in Goma and around Bukavu.
The measures included checkpoints, screening, contact tracing, quarantine sites and community awareness campaigns.
According to Reuters, four cases had been recorded in AFC/M23-controlled areas by mid-June. Three patients had recovered and one had died. About 400 contacts were being monitored at the time.
After 21 days without a new local case, the AFC/M23 announced the end of the first phase of the outbreak in the territories under its control.
The local improvement did not eliminate the risk of new cases. In September, a 21-year-old man arriving from Butembo, an area controlled by the Congolese government, was detected at a checkpoint in Kayna, near Lubero, and later confirmed positive. Contact tracing was restarted.
The episode illustrated the limits of a strictly territorial response while people continue to move between different areas.
EAC strengthens regional preparedness
As concerns grow over possible cross-border transmission, the East African Community (EAC) is also strengthening its preparedness capacity.
With support from Germany, the organisation is bringing together 120 health professionals from its eight partner states in Nairobi this week for training on high-risk infectious diseases, including Ebola.
The EAC also has a regional network of mobile laboratories designed to strengthen disease detection and outbreak response capacities.
Since the DRC is an EAC member, the outbreak is also a regional concern. Trade and population movements between the DRC and neighbouring countries make rapid health-alert sharing, surveillance at border crossings and cooperation between laboratories particularly important.
A response that goes beyond borders
The development of the outbreak shows that the health response cannot depend solely on administrative or political boundaries.
Data sharing, monitoring of exposed people, access to affected areas and laboratory capacity are among the factors that can help limit transmission.
As the EAC continues its preparedness efforts in Nairobi, the situation in the DRC highlights the importance of health coordination mechanisms that can operate despite territorial divisions and political tensions in the Great Lakes region.
Sources: WHO, EAC, Reuters.