Frontline health workers battling the Democratic Republic of Congo's spiraling Ebola outbreak staged protests Thursday at the governor's office in Bunia, demanding months of unpaid wages while the epidemic claims lives at an unprecedented rate. The workers, including nurses providing critical care to Ebola patients in Ituri province—which accounts for nearly 90% of the country's cases—say they haven't received salaries or bonuses since the outbreak was declared in mid-May.
The crisis has reached alarming proportions. Congo's Ministry of Health reported 3,874 confirmed cases and 1,751 deaths, while AP reported 3,973 confirmed cases and 1,801 deaths as of Tuesday. It's the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded and the fastest-spreading in Congo's history.
Workers Bear the Burden Without Pay
Wiza Bondele, a member of the Ebola infection prevention and control team who also worked during the country's 2018 outbreak, described conditions that violate basic labor protections. His team disinfects homes where Ebola victims have died to reduce transmission risk. Workers launched a strike in July after authorities failed to address concerns over unpaid wages and hazardous working conditions.
Bondele said workers spend seven days a week in heavy personal protective equipment for extended periods, often longer than safety guidelines recommend. They regularly deal with patients suffering severe symptoms, including vomiting blood, while lacking adequate support and compensation. Some workers who eventually received payments were given $380 instead of the promised $510. Many others remained unpaid entirely.
His greatest concern? Becoming infected and transmitting Ebola to his family and community. He's considered leaving the job because of the risks, but he's waiting to see whether authorities will honor their commitments and pay workers for the months they've already served.
Edouige Makosi, one of Thursday's protesters, said, "With this way of managing things, Ebola will not end in this province. We ask the authorities to get involved at all levels so that a solution is found quickly." Officials have in the past blamed logistical issues for the payment delays.
Outbreak Outpaces Response Efforts
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that the epidemic is following a trajectory significantly worse than previous outbreaks. Government data shows 674 patients are currently in isolation, most of them in Ituri, and at least 75% of contacts are being traced after exposure to patients. But authorities said 60% to 70% of new cases in the current outbreak are recorded outside of contacts being monitored, and that the outbreak is spreading at an "alarming" rate faster than efforts to track it.
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders said this week that the outbreak is still "spreading at an alarming and unprecedented rate" and that the response, which has been expanding, "is still not reaching communities quickly enough to break transmission chains."
International Response and Community Pleas
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with President Félix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa on Wednesday, his second visit to the country since the outbreak was declared in mid-May. Tedros, accompanied by Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya, said the situation remains deeply concerning as transmission continues to rise. During his visit to Congo on Wednesday, Tedros urged authorities to prioritize care and support for responders.
The United States announced an additional $242 million in funding for emergency Ebola response, preparedness and humanitarian support across the region. Families affected by Ebola have also appealed for stronger action. Georgine Imani, whose father died from Ebola, called on authorities to intensify efforts to find effective medicines and bring the outbreak under control.
Authorities also held nearly 200 boat passengers in quarantine near Kinshasa on Thursday after one traveler who had been aboard the boat died with symptoms matching Ebola. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC, said the passenger had become sick and disembarked less than one year ago in Pimu, in the province of Mongala, more than 1,000 kilometers from Kinshasa along the Congo River, and later died. He said the capital has no confirmed Ebola case. Authorities didn't give the boat's current location beyond saying it was near the capital, and didn't say whether the nearly 200 remaining passengers were being held aboard the ship or on land, or how long they'd be held. They said they were awaiting test results. Kaseya said, "We decided to do that even if some of them didn't have symptoms because we want to make sure that we don't miss anything."
Why This Matters:
The unpaid wages crisis reveals a fundamental failure in how public health emergencies are managed in resource-constrained settings. Workers risking their lives to contain a deadly epidemic shouldn't have to strike for promised compensation—their labor protects entire communities from catastrophic transmission. When frontline responders can't afford to stay on the job, outbreak control collapses, threatening not just Congo but neighboring countries and global health security. The gap between international funding announcements and actual support reaching workers on the ground demonstrates how aid systems often fail those doing the most dangerous work. Families like Georgine Imani's, who've lost loved ones to Ebola, deserve a response that matches the scale of the crisis—one that treats health workers as essential infrastructure, not expendable labor. Without addressing the structural inequities that leave responders unpaid and unsupported, even the largest outbreaks will continue to outpace containment efforts.