Ebola Transit Centre Burned Down in DR Congo Camp as Insecurity Halts Response
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak faces a profound operational setback after an Ebola transit facility was burned down at the Kigonze displacement camp in Ituri province. Julien Harneis, the United Nations senior Ebola response official in the DRC, condemned the blaze on Tuesday evening, noting that the site’s destruction directly degrades regional healthcare capacity.
The facility fire compounds a volatile humanitarian crisis across the resource-rich eastern borderlands near Rwanda. The Kigonze camp, which recently provided shelter for approximately 19,000 people fleeing localized violence, now lies entirely abandoned following reports that soldiers entered the site searching for weapons and suspected non-State armed group members amid sporadic gunfire.
“It’s been a huge struggle to create Ebola transit centres [and] Ebola treatment centres; it’s required money, bringing in staff and it’s been a struggle all across the east,” Mr. Harneis told UN News, describing the transit centre fire as deeply disappointing. When a facility is lost, he emphasized, the response loses both vital capital investment and critical patient care access, forcing teams to restart operations from scratch.
Escalating Clashes and Displacements Paralyze Ituri and North Kivu Provinces
The destruction of the Kigonze transit hub occurs alongside a broader wave of displacement and violence paralyzing health zones across eastern DRC. More than 3,000 people fled the Rhoe displacement camp in Djugu territory following intensified clashes on September 27. Humanitarian sources confirm that at least four people were killed and seven injured during the violence, which also saw several houses burned down in Blukwa.
Ongoing armed conflict severely restricts logistical access for medical personnel attempting to contain the epidemic. Transportation routes to health zones in Ituri province—including Fataki, Drodro, and Lita—remain heavily compromised. Active insecurity has delayed the transport of crucial laboratory diagnostic samples from Fataki to Bunia and obstructed the safe transfer of confirmed Ebola patients to designated treatment centres.
The security vacuum extends south into North Kivu province, where two individuals involved in the frontline Ebola response were killed in Lubero on September 27 and 28. In Masisi, separate fighting has displaced more than 24,000 residents since mid-September. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that additional violence across South Kivu and Tanganyika provinces has forced thousands more from their homes.
A Vast Public Health Emergency Grips Seven Provinces
Declared in mid-May, the current nationwide health emergency spans seven provinces: Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, South Ubangi, and Tshopo. Cumulative figures indicate more than 8,000 confirmed infection cases and approximately 4,000 deaths. Ituri remains the primary epicentre of the outbreak, with the highest concentration of cases centered around Bunia and Mongbwalu.
The World Health Organization (WHO) outlines a difficult dual mandate for responders operating in the region. Transmission remains intense in established pockets, requiring immediate capacity expansion to break infection chains, while emerging hotspots demand rapid containment interventions.
To address these mounting pressures, the WHO and local health authorities have scaled up specialized support, focusing on case management, surveillance, and community engagement. In Ituri’s Mongala health region—located 45 kilometres from Bunia—346 confirmed cases and 149 deaths have been recorded since the initial infection was identified on May 18. Because Mongala lacks a dedicated local treatment facility, patients requiring inpatient care must travel up to 27 kilometres to Nizi or onward to Bunia depending on bed availability.
Expanded Burial Teams and Ongoing Resource Deficits
Logistical adjustments have yielded tangible expansions in safe and dignified burial capacity across the affected territories. The WHO reports that mobile burial teams deployed across Ituri province have increased from 53 teams of 12 members to 114 operational units. Additionally, 57 community-based teams trained in safe burial protocols now operate across 11 health areas in Mongala and Fataki.
Patient bed capacity has likewise grown to target over 1,800 beds distributed across 54 health facilities spanning 34 distinct health zones. However, bridging infrastructure expansion with operational manpower remains an acute hurdle. The WHO estimates that more than 1,400 additional health professionals are urgently required to staff the scaled-up facilities, reduce administrative and clinical bottlenecks, and ensure timely admissions for vulnerable populations.
