Suspected Ebola cases have risen sharply from 246 to 500 in just 96 hours across eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, representing an increase of 103% over three days.
The last two major Ebola outbreaks caused by the Zaire strain, for which a vaccine is available, infected more than 32,000 people and killed over 13,600.
Before 2025, US government funding supported IRC frontline health, surveillance, and outbreak preparedness activities across eastern DRC.
Major funding cuts beginning in March 2025 led IRC to reduce programming from five to two areas of Ituri; the epicentre of the current outbreak.
19 May 2026 — Weakened disease surveillance systems following severe health funding cuts in eastern DRC are contributing to the rapid escalation of the latest Ebola outbreak, with suspected cases rising from 246 to 500 in just 96 hours, the IRC warns. The outbreak, affecting eastern DRC and Uganda, involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which currently has no licensed vaccine or targeted treatment.
Before 2025, the US Government funded a range of IRC frontline health and outbreak preparedness activities across eastern DRC, including treatment for communicable and non-communicable diseases, disease surveillance, and the construction and rehabilitation of water, sanitation, and infection prevention and control infrastructure. This included waste management areas, triage zones, handwashing stations, showers, and latrines critical to safely managing infectious disease outbreaks. However, much of this funding ended for NGOs in March 2025. Following these funding cuts, IRC programming has been reduced from five health areas in Ituri province, where this outbreak began, to only two health areas.
Heather Reoch Kerr, IRC’s Country Director for DRC, said,
“Funding cuts have left the region dangerously exposed. The sharp rise in reported cases over the last few days reflects the reality that surveillance systems are now catching up with transmission that has likely been occurring for some time. We fear the true scale of transmission may be significantly higher than current figures suggest, and we are likely to continue seeing case numbers rise over the coming two to four weeks. We are particularly concerned about geographic spread and are carefully monitoring high-risk locations in South Kivu, Uganda, and South Sudan.
“Preparedness in high-risk areas is critical to disrupting transmission before the outbreak spreads further. Years of underinvestment and recent funding cuts have left many health facilities without adequate protective equipment, surveillance capacity, or frontline support needed to respond quickly and safely. Certain activities previously supported by donor funding, including the provision of PPE kits to health facilities, have been significantly reduced, and today many facilities in affected areas are operating without basic protective supplies.”
The DRC faces a longstanding humanitarian crisis, ranking seventh on the IRC’s Emergency Watchlist and appearing on the Watchlist consecutively for the past decade. The outbreak is unfolding amid ongoing insecurity and displacement across eastern DRC, conditions that significantly complicate outbreak response efforts, limit humanitarian access, and increase the risk of cross-border spread.
As world leaders gather at the World Health Assembly this week, the IRC is urging governments and donors to increase investment in frontline healthcare, particularly primary healthcare systems, surveillance networks, infection prevention and control measures, outbreak preparedness, and community-based detection and awareness-raising in fragile and conflict-affected states.
Drawing on its extensive experience supporting Ebola and infectious disease responses across the continent, the IRC has launched a response in DRC, including the distribution of critical protective equipment. In Uganda, the IRC is working alongside the Ministry of Health at border areas to coordinate response efforts and support infection prevention and control activities, including screening people crossing the border.