Unpaid wages and deadly risk: Health workers threaten to abandon Ebola response in DRC

Micheline Kayimpa, a nurse at the Elikya Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia, risks her life daily treating patients infected with one of the world's deadliest viruses. The constant threat of infection is compounded by a lack of pay, as Kayimpa and dozens of other health workers have not received wages for months. They are now protesting and threatening to boycott work.

The situation is critical as the outbreak, detected in mid-May, has become the largest ever reported in the DRC. It has infected at least 3,874 people and killed 1,751, surpassing the country's last major epidemic. The outbreak was also detected in neighboring Uganda, which has since declared itself Ebola-free, but transmission continues to accelerate in eastern Congo.

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I am very afraid for my safety. Sometimes, a small detail we overlook can prove fatal.

Compounding the challenge, this outbreak is caused by the less common Bundibugyo strain, which has no proven vaccines and limited treatment options. Ongoing fighting in eastern DRC further hinders the response, making it difficult for health workers to reach affected communities. "This outbreak took hold in communities already worn down by conflict and displacement, with weak health, water and sanitation systems to begin with," said Lancelot Mermet, director of humanitarian programs at Mercy Corps. He added that mistrust and misinformation about Ebola also contribute to the virus spreading faster.

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This outbreak took hold in communities already worn down by conflict and displacement, with weak health, water and sanitation systems to begin with. When people can’t get to care quickly, or don’t trust the system enough to come forward, the virus moves faster.