DR Congo: UNICEF DRC – Revised Response Plan for the 17th Ebola Outbreak, July 2026

Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo Source: UN Children’s Fund Please refer to the attached file. Updated Situation Overview On 15 May 2026, the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) officially declared an Ebola disease outbreak following laboratory confirmation of cases caused by the Bundibugyo virus species in Ituri Province. Initial confirmed cases were reported in Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu health zones. On 17 May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) determined that the outbreak constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). This is the seventeenth Ebola outbreak recorded in the country and the first caused by the Bundibugyo virus species in DRC since 2012. Two months after the declaration of DRC’s seventeenth Ebola outbreak, transmission remains active and continues to expand geographically, although the epidemiological pattern differs markedly across the affected provinces. As of 10 July 2026, 1, 873 confirmed cases and 672 confirmed deaths had been reported, corresponding to a case fatality rate of 35. 9 per cent, across 41 health zones and five provinces (Ituri, North Kivu South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo). 1 Ituri remains the epicentre, accounting for 1, 705 cases-91. per cent of the national caseload-and continues to drive the geographic expansion of the outbreak. North Kivu has reported a substantially smaller caseload of 165 cases but a disproportionately high case fatality rate of 57 per cent, indicating persistent challenges in early detection, referral and access to care. South Kivu, by contrast, remains at three confirmed cases and has reported no new confirmed case since 26 May. Two new provinces-Haut-Uélé and Tshopo- have now reported confirmed cases that are epidemiologically linked to the outbreak epicentre in Ituri Province, The Ebola response in Eastern DRC is challenged by a combination of interconnected operational challenges that are constraining both effectiveness and the pace of scale-up. At the frontline, contact tracing remains fragile. This situation increases the risk of missed contacts, delayed isolation, and continued community transmission, particularly in high-risk and mobile populations. At the same time, limited bed capacity in treatment and isolation facilities is placing significant pressure on the quality and timeliness of care. Overcrowding not only disrupts referral pathways and safe isolation practices but also undermines community trust, which is essential for early care-seeking and adherence to public health measures. The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak is causing a severe impact on children. Intense household transmission increases the likelihood of child infection, while overwhelmed health systems disrupt routine immunization, maternal and child health care, and nutrition services, exposing children to preventable illness and death. Beyond health, the outbreak is exacerbating protection risks, with rising cases of family separation, psychosocial distress, and stigma, particularly in communities already affected by conflict and poverty. Ebola outbreaks generate significant mental health and psychosocial consequences for affected individuals, families, health workers and communities. Fear of infection, repeated exposure to illness and death, family separation, quarantine measures, stigma, grief, disrupted social networks and loss of livelihoods contribute to elevated levels of psychological distress. Children, adolescents, caregivers, survivors and frontline responders are particularly vulnerable, underscoring the need for integrated MHPSS across all response pillars rather than as a standalone intervention. Recent child protection assessments in Ebola-affected areas of Ituri indicate that than 80 per cent of children and nearly 90 per cent of caregivers reported fear linked to the outbreak, while communities highlighted increasing psychosocial distress, stigma and concerns for children’s safety. The assessment also identified rising risks of family separation, violence in the home, child labor, exploitation and sexual violence, driven by economic hardship, fear and disruption of community support systems, reinforcing how increased protection risks are not a secondary consequence of Ebola, but part of the crisis itself.

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