An Ebola treatment centre in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo was set on fire by angry demonstrators on Wednesday, destroying medical tents and setting back containment efforts in an outbreak that the World Health Organization has already classified as a global health emergency.
The attack took place in Rwampara district, where residents clashed with health workers over the burial of a local footballer who had died from suspected Ebola. Witnesses say the man’s family insisted on a traditional burial, which involves washing and handling the body — a practice that health authorities have banned because the virus remains transmissible after death.
Police fired warning shots and tear gas as a crowd of several hundred people surrounded the treatment site. The tents, which housed patients receiving antiviral treatment, were completely destroyed. A body that had been awaiting burial was also burned.
Mistrust Fuelling the Crisis
This is not the first time communities in eastern Congo have turned against Ebola health responders. During the massive 2018–2020 outbreak in North Kivu — the second-deadliest Ebola event in recorded history — hundreds of health facilities were attacked by armed groups and civilians who viewed medical teams with suspicion.
That legacy of mistrust is proving difficult to overcome. In the current outbreak, disinformation about the virus has spread rapidly across social media platforms, with some local figures spreading claims that Ebola is being fabricated to attract international funding. Others object to what they describe as heavy-handed enforcement of safe burial rules that contradict cultural and religious traditions.
“We understand why people are angry, but burning the centre will only make things worse,” said a local health official who asked not to be named. “The virus doesn’t stop because we fight the responders.”
The Scale of the Outbreak
DR Congo’s health ministry reported 148 suspected deaths and nearly 600 suspected cases as of Wednesday. The figures are widely understood to be undercounts. The head of the World Health Organization said this week that the actual toll is almost certainly far higher than official data suggests, and that transmission is accelerating.
One death has been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda, where authorities have now confirmed three additional cases beyond the original index patient. Ten other countries in the region have been classified by the WHO as high-risk.
The destruction of the Rwampara centre removes one of only a handful of treatment facilities equipped to handle severe Ebola cases in the affected zone. Aid organisations are in discussions with local leaders to rebuild the centre, but negotiations are expected to take days at minimum — time the outbreak cannot afford.
International Response Strained
The outbreak has placed enormous strain on international health organisations already stretched by concurrent emergencies. The WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern last week, triggering the release of emergency funds and streamlining vaccine deployment protocols.
But getting supplies into eastern Congo is complicated by the presence of multiple armed groups, including M23 rebels who control territory where some cases have been reported. The rebels have at times obstructed health worker access, though local commanders have in recent days signalled a willingness to allow humanitarian convoys to pass.
On the ground, health workers say the priority is regaining community trust — beginning with engaging traditional leaders and religious figures in the response rather than imposing protocols from the outside.
“We cannot fight this outbreak by force,” said one epidemiologist working with an international NGO in Goma. “The community has to be on our side. Right now, it isn’t.”