Attacks on Ebola centres intensify in eastern DRC amid outbreak fears

Attacks on Ebola health facilities have escalated in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, coinciding with World Health Organization warnings of a potential worsening outbreak in the DRC and Uganda. The escalating violence highlights deep-seated mistrust and fear within affected communities.

On Thursday, angry residents stormed the Rwampara health center, demanding the bodies of relatives who had succumbed to Ebola. A day later, a tent used by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at a hospital in Mongbwalu, Ituri province, was set ablaze. An NGO, Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), confirmed that tensions flared as healthcare staff prepared a deceased patient's body for burial according to strict health protocols.

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Some people here believe that Ebola is a business. When healthcare providers refuse to hand over the bodies of those who have died from Ebola, people think they might be trafficking their organs.

"Despite this incident, the teams were also able to secure the body of the deceased patient in preparation for a dignified and safe burial, in accordance with Ebola response standards," ALIMA stated. Health workers in Ebola-affected regions have frequently encountered resistance due to stringent burial protocols, which are essential for preventing further virus transmission but clash with local customs.

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Let us bury the deceased safely. The dead must not take others with them into the grave.

Gloire Idriss, a Rwampara resident, expressed the community's suspicion: "Some people here believe that Ebola is a business. When healthcare providers refuse to hand over the bodies of those who have died from Ebola, people think they might be trafficking their organs." Congolese health minister Roger Kamba emphasized the contagious nature of victims' bodies, urging, "Let us bury the deceased safely. The dead must not take others with them into the grave."

These clashes stem from cultural practices where relatives and neighbors gather to mourn and often touch the body. Lokana Jean, a 40-year-old from Mongbwalu, lamented, "When my daughter died of Ebola last month, the medical team came to bury her. We didn’t get to say our final goodbyes. It still upsets me that I had to watch her funeral helplessly without our cultural rites." As of Saturday, nearly 180 people had died from the disease.

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When my daughter died of Ebola last month, the medical team came to bury her. We didn’t get to say our final goodbyes. It still upsets me that I had to watch her funeral helplessly without our cultural rites.