Published on 6/20/2026
The response to the Ebola virus in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is no longer limited to combating infection and the spread of the disease, but has entered a more complex stage after a center for treating and isolating infected people was attacked by a group of residents, which threatens the efforts of medical teams and increases the risks of the spread of the virus.
In the city of Beni in North Kivu Province, a number of residents attacked a center designated for the treatment and isolation of those infected with the Ebola virus, using sticks, stones and machetes, according to local sources. The attack targeted health workers and led to the sabotage of facilities inside the center and assault on some patients in isolation.
The attack was not an isolated incident, as official sources reported a similar attack last Thursday on health teams in the city of Butembo, an indication that those working in the fight against Ebola face a security challenge in addition to the difficulty of dealing with the epidemic itself.
Regarding the reasons why residents attack the teams that came to treat them, Dr. Yahya Abdel-Mumen Makki, a virology specialist and former expert with the World Health Organization, explains to Al Jazeera that part of the problem is related to misunderstanding and local beliefs, in addition to the restrictions imposed by health procedures on some customs and rituals associated with death and burial.
He said that previous experiences during the Ebola outbreaks in 2014 and 2016 showed that prohibiting some rituals, such as touching the bodies of the deceased or some practices related to local customs, led to anger among residents of some remote villages, especially in areas near forests.
He stressed that confronting this challenge is not only through security measures, but through the involvement of tribal leaders and influential local figures, because residents in some areas trust tribal sheikhs more than official authorities.
Collapse of preventive measures
Makki said that attacks on medical staff pose a great danger, not only to the safety of workers, but also to the ability of societies to contain the disease.
He explained that the areas facing the Ebola outbreak already suffer from a weak health infrastructure and a shortage of specialized personnel, noting that attacking doctors and nurses means losing the basic elements capable of diagnosing the disease and treating those infected.
He added that the danger of these attacks also lies in the fact that they may lead to the collapse of preventive measures, because health workers rely on special protective equipment while dealing with patients, and any disruption to their work may open the door to wider transmission of the infection.
The former expert at the World Health Organization pointed out that the matter also threatens the access of international aid, whether from the World Health Organization or supporting countries, which provide the medicines, vaccines, and examinations necessary to confront the epidemic.
He pointed out that the number of cases witnessed a noticeable increase, explaining that after recording less than 120 cases about a month ago, laboratory-confirmed cases exceeded 800, with more than 200 deaths, which makes the continued work of medical teams crucial in controlling the spread of the virus.
Makki called for strengthening the role of the United Nations and the World Health Organization in communicating with local communities, through the use of translators who speak local dialects, to explain that medical teams are there to protect the population and not to prevent them from their culture or rituals.
Makki added that the armed conflicts in eastern Democratic Congo further complicate the scene, as wars weaken health systems and prevent medical teams and international organizations from reaching the affected areas, which hinders vaccination campaigns and drug distribution and creates an environment suitable for the spread of epidemics.
