6 months into DRC’s Ebola outbreak, women and girls face increasing maternal deaths and violence

Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, November 13, 2026 —  Six months into the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), women and teenage girls face growing risks to their health and safety, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said today. Many women and girls are avoiding seeking critical health care, facing a growing risk of violence and losing the family support they depend on. In the past six months, IRC protection teams have supported more than 1,000 people with protection needs in Ituri province, including 194 survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). Almost 200 pregnant girls aged 13 to 19, including 184 girls under 18 and seven girls under 15 received group psychotherapy. 

During the period of 19–23 October, IRC teams collected 84 rumours, including that people who go to treatment centers "do not come out" keep women away from clinics, for services such as postnatal care, and many turn to self-medication instead. Women are farming less in groups, which used to protect them from violence. Many  feel unsafe working alone, deepening hunger and food insecurity. All of this is unfolding in a region marked by years of conflict, displacement and rising living costs. Cuts to global aid have also left eastern DRC with a weaker health system, and with fewer resources to respond compared to the previous 2018–2020 outbreak. 

“The world is failing girls in DRC,” said Alice Ribes, IRC Ebola response director. Almost half of the protection cases IRC reached since May 15 were girls under 18. “Our teams are increasingly concerned about the sexual abuse and exploitation of girls, and we are seeing more domestic violence in North Kivu. Ebola is a health emergency, but for women and girls it is also a protection emergency, meaning being less safe in their own homes and communities.”

The teams also cared for 183 children who lost one or both parents, 110 of them girls, and 115 unaccompanied or separated children, 68 of them girls. Without parental protection and income, many of these girls face Ebola-related stigma and social rejection, are exposed to malnutrition, and are forced into adult roles as heads of household before their time. In their search for food, girls and boys alike are used as labor on construction sites and in restaurants and hotels, while many girls are pushed into early marriage and sexual exploitation.

The IRC calls for funding for gender-based violence services, mental health support and child protection as a core part of the response, and for keeping that funding in place after the outbreak ends. Maternal and child health care must be kept running, with trust rebuilt so women return to facilities, working through women’s associations, mothers’ groups and midwives. 

The IRC is putting women and girls at the center of its Ebola response in Ituri and North Kivu. IRC teams are working to provide mental health and psychosocial support to women and girls and training psychosocial focal points on GBV, referral and safeguarding. The IRC also partners with local women’s groups and women-led organizations, which reached 347 people on combatting stigma and providing protection, and backs local women leaders and girls who lead prevention in their own communities. Midwives and Ebola survivors help explain Ebola in pregnancy, and safe-space assessments make sure triage suits pregnant patients.