Whenever we travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), our first task is to listen. In Bunia, we have sat with dozens of community representatives: survivors, women, young people, local organisations, health workers and leaders from areas hit hardest by the crisis.
Their message could not have been clearer: bring us into the response. We understand our communities. We know where families go for care, how news and warnings spread, and why trust is beginning to fracture. Give us the tools and support to help lead. They were right.
Ebola moves through communities, and it is those same communities that hold much of the knowledge needed to stop its spread.
They can spot signs of illness early, alert health teams, assist with contact tracing, push back against dangerous rumours and stand with families during treatment and safe, dignified burials. The Ebola response will be stronger and faster when communities work as leaders alongside national authorities and frontline health workers.
One hundred days ago, the government of the DRC declared the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak after the Bundibugyo virus was confirmed.
Since then, the outbreak has become the deadliest ever recorded, claiming about 2,500 lives.
Behind that devastating toll are families in mourning and communities facing Ebola while also navigating conflict, displacement and limited access to healthcare.
At the heart of the response are the people who keep turning up, day after day. Health workers treat patients. Laboratory teams confirm the virus. Contact tracers map its movements. Community health workers rebuild trust where fear and misinformation have spread. Burial teams help families say goodbye to loved ones safely and with dignity.
They are working under extraordinary pressure, often in insecure areas.
Some have contracted Ebola in the line of duty; some have paid with their lives.
Their service must be met with action: protection, training, reliable equipment, timely payment, psychosocial support and access to vaccination, testing and treatment. Their safety is central to stopping transmission.
The response has made progress. Under the leadership of national authorities, Congolese responders, WHO, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and partners have expanded surveillance, deployed laboratories, supported treatment centres, reinforced infection prevention and delivered essential supplies.
Uganda has interrupted transmission and declared the end of its outbreak, proving the Bundibugyo Ebola virus can be stopped. Decisive national leadership and close cooperation with communities broke the chains of transmission.
The emergency continues in the DRC. Cases are still being detected outside known contact lists. Each one points to a chain that has not yet been found. Every delay gives the virus another opportunity to spread.
The next phase must reach the village.
The DRC’s village-centred strategy takes the response to the places where transmission occurs. Surveillance, testing, treatment, vaccination, infection prevention and community engagement must operate together, close to affected families. Teams need the authority and resources to act quickly.
This is how we stop Ebola at its source: identify infection early, isolate and care for patients safely, follow every contact and prevent the next transmission.
Community leadership will determine whether this works. Women’s groups, young people, religious leaders, traditional healers, survivors and community health workers know where families seek care, how information moves and where trust is weakening. They can identify concerns early, challenge dangerous rumours and help response teams reach people who may otherwise remain invisible.
Their knowledge must shape the response. When they raise concerns, they must see action.
Trust is earned through delivery. A family that reports a suspected case needs safe transport and immediate care. A community that supports vaccination needs clear information about what the vaccine can do. Families who lose loved ones need dignity, compassion and support through safe burial procedures.
Health facilities also require urgent protection. As of 18 August, 163 health workers have been infected and 47 have died in the DRC, while Uganda has recorded four health worker infections. Every facility needs trained staff, protective equipment, clean water and sanitation.
An infection in a health facility places workers, patients and families at risk. A protected health facility becomes a centre for early detection, safe care and public confidence.
Financing remains a decisive test. Governments and partners have made commitments that must now reach the response.
National and local teams need predictable funding for surveillance, laboratories, treatment, vaccination, logistics, infection prevention and community engagement. Frontline workers must be paid on time. Supplies must arrive before stocks run out.
Delayed financing costs lives; fragmented financing leaves gaps. Ebola exploits both.
Cross-border coordination must remain strong. People move to trade, work, study, seek care and support families. Countries need rapid information-sharing, aligned surveillance and prepared health facilities along major routes.
The first 100 days have made the priorities clear: find every case; follow every contact; protect every frontline worker; bring testing, treatment and vaccination closer to every affected community. Turn every pledge into action.
Africa CDC will continue working with the DRC, alongside neighbouring countries, communities and partners, to bring the full strength of international and continental cooperation behind the nationally led response.
This outbreak can be ended. Uganda has shown what focused leadership and community action can achieve. The DRC can do the same.
Dr Jean Kaseya is director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is director general of the World Health Organization
