The World Health Organization has issued an urgent warning that the Ebola outbreak centred in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading faster than authorities can contain it, with more than 900 suspected cases identified and at least 220 suspected deaths. "We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking at an African Union ministerial briefing on Monday. He acknowledged that a delay in detecting early cases had left responders "playing catch-up," and announced he would travel to the DRC on Tuesday to directly review operations.

The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola — a rare variant for which no approved vaccine or treatment currently exists. The hardest-hit areas are concentrated in Ituri province in northeastern DRC, particularly around the towns of Bunia, Mongbwalu, Rwampara and Nyankunde. Ituri is a commercial and migration hub in a gold-rich region that has experienced decades of conflict between militias linked to the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups, fighting that has killed more than 50,000 people since 1999. Cases have also been reported in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, some in areas under rebel control. The outbreak has now crossed into Uganda, which shares a border with Ituri: Kampala's health ministry confirmed on Monday two additional cases among health workers at a private facility in the capital, bringing Uganda's total to seven confirmed cases.

Response efforts face compounding obstacles. Insecurity in Ituri and North Kivu has displaced more than 100,000 people in recent months, severely disrupting health infrastructure. Community resistance has further strained the response: over the past week, angry residents attacked at least three health facilities in Ituri, demanding that bodies of Ebola victims be released for traditional burial. At the Mongbwalu general referral hospital, four waves of attacks on Sunday led to seven patients fleeing, while one critically ill patient died attempting to escape. Traditional burial practices — which involve washing and touching the body — have historically been a key driver of Ebola transmission, but authorities retain control of victims' remains as a containment measure, creating tension with grieving families.

To address the crisis, the WHO has released $3.9 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies and, alongside the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has unveiled a six-month, $319 million response plan covering all 55 African Union member states. Of that total, $265 million is designated for outbreak response in DRC and Uganda, while $54 million will support preparedness in ten high-risk neighbouring countries. The WHO is also fast-tracking medical countermeasures, including clinical trials for two monoclonal antibody treatments and the antiviral obeldesivir as a post-exposure prophylactic. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni cancelled the country's Martyrs' Day commemoration — an event that typically draws up to two million people — as a preventive measure, a decision publicly praised by Dr Tedros.

Despite the grim picture, WHO officials expressed cautious resolve. "We are facing an extremely serious and difficult outbreak. It will get worse before it gets better. But we know this virus, and we know how to stop it," Tedros said. Building community trust in affected areas has been identified as a critical priority, alongside expanding contact tracing, treatment centres and laboratory capacity across the region.