• The outbreak is spreading faster than the response, with over 900 suspected cases and at least 223 deaths already reported across DRC and Uganda, including in major transport hubs like Goma and Kampala.

  • Conflict is fueling the crisis and increasing the risk of regional spillover.

  • Aid cuts mean eastern DRC has a weaker health system now than it did before the 2018-2020 outbreak that killed more than 2,000 people.

  • The IRC calls for urgent international funding and coordination to contain the outbreak.

26 May 2026 —  The International Rescue Committee (IRC) today warned that the rapidly escalating Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could become the deadliest outbreak on record without urgent international action. 

A new IRC Watchlist Flash Alert identifies three warning signs that this outbreak could be particularly difficult to contain: the outbreak is spreading faster than the response; conflict and displacement are accelerating the risk of regional spread; and severe global aid cuts have weakened frontline health systems and outbreak preparedness across eastern DRC.

“The warning signs are flashing red,” said Bob Kitchen, Vice President of Emergencies for the IRC. “Eastern DRC is confronting this outbreak more fragile and less prepared than during the 2018-2020 outbreak that killed more than 2,000 people- and with fewer resources to fight it. Increased conflict and cuts to global aid funding have dismantled defenses at exactly the wrong moment. The lesson from every previous outbreak is clear: delays cost lives. The risks are growing and the resources are shrinking; that is the brutal arithmetic facing global aid today.” 

The alert warns that the outbreak has already expanded beyond Ituri province, the epicenter of the crisis, into North Kivu, South Kivu and neighboring Uganda. Cases have now been reported in major population centers including the capitals of Ituri (Bunia) and North Kivu (Goma) and Kampala, Uganda significantly increasing the risk of onward transmission across the region. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or targeted treatments. At the same time, years of violence, mass displacement and cuts to global health funding have left eastern DRC less prepared to contain a major outbreak than during previous Ebola epidemics.

This outbreak can still be contained, but only if governments, donors, UN agencies and humanitarian organsations urgently work together alongside the Africa CDC to support frontline responders and affected communities. The IRC is calling for five urgent steps before the outbreak can no longer be contained:

  1. Establish a UN coordinator, through OCHA and WHO, to partner with the Africa CDC to lead the regional response. This complicated and international response requires a senior expert, embedded within the existing UN structure.
  2. Remove all barriers to resourcing an effective response. Restrictions on importing PPE must be relaxed instantly. Accreditation must be expedited for specialist NGOs with experience responding to Ebola. IRC is urging all parties to ensure safe humanitarian access and the rapid delivery of critical medical supplies, while emphasising that community trust and engagement will be essential to containing the outbreak.
  3. Surge funding immediately to strengthen frontline healthcare, surveillance and treatment centers. 
  4. Center the response around women and girls, who currently make up two thirds of suspected cases.
  5. Invest in the DRC’s healthcare system long term. Years of underfunding and the withdrawal of donor support have left eastern DRC without the tools needed to catch a disease like Ebola before it takes hold.

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 with funding from the EU at border areas to strengthen response efforts and support infection prevention and control activities, including screening people crossing the border.

The IRC’s Emergency Watchlist is an annual global report identifying the countries most at risk of worsening humanitarian crises in the year ahead. Drawing on data analysis and field expertise from IRC teams operating in crisis affected communities worldwide, the Watchlist highlights where conflict, climate shocks, displacement, economic instability and political fragility are likely to drive humanitarian need. Watchlist Flash Alerts are rapid analyses published in response to fast-moving crises or major developments that risk significantly worsening humanitarian conditions and require urgent international attention.