Ebola in the DRC is spreading rapidly as the Democratic Republic of the Congo faces a new wave of the highly contagious disease amid particularly challenging circumstances in the eastern part of the country, where armed conflict and rebel groups severely limit the response capabilities of both the government and the Church.
During a visit to the international headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Germany, Fr. Olivier Ndondo, Provincial Superior of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament in the DRC and Uganda, explained that the nation is currently confronting a new onslaught of the virus, which first appeared in 1976. While local authorities have acted swiftly to diagnose cases, contain infections, and prevent wider transmission across most of the country, the situation remains particularly dire in the east due to severe insecurity.
Forced displacement fueling Ebola in the DRC
The challenge of controlling the disease is compounded by the forced displacement of populations fleeing violence, particularly in the east and northeast along the Ugandan border. As people constantly move across regions to escape conflict, the risk of spreading the virus increases drastically. Regarding the obstacles to providing healthcare, Fr. Ndondo noted:
“It is very difficult to get there because of the war”.
While the situation on the Ugandan side appears to be under better control due to easier government intervention, cross-border movement severely complicates containment efforts:
“On one side, they have to deal with the conflict, but they also have the disease to contend with”.
The Church’s response to Ebola in the DRC and the plea for peace
Amid the crisis, the Catholic Church is playing a crucial role by welcoming displaced people, providing emergency assistance, raising disease awareness, and calling for solidarity. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the DRC has issued a statement encouraging responsible adherence to hygiene measures, even as certain local funeral customs involving physical contact with bodies complicate prevention:
“The Church in the east is facing both emergencies, the war and the epidemic, with the resources it has and whatever support it can mobilise”.
Fr. Ndondo emphasized that “peace and health” are deeply connected, pointing out the profound psychological and social impact of violence, which prevents people from working, schooling their children, and maintaining adequate living conditions:
“Without peace, it becomes more difficult to protect health, and without health, it becomes even harder to rebuild hope among a population marked by decades of violence”.
“With war, we lose hope”.
“There are people who were born 30 years ago and have known nothing but war”.
The ongoing mix of health and security crises affects the entire Congolese population, with its immense economic burden and human cost—manifested in deaths, kidnappings, hunger, and displacement—clearly felt even in the capital, Kinshasa.