What to know

• Death toll exceeds 3,000 as the DRC faces its fastest-growing, deadliest, and largest Ebola outbreak on record.
• Up to 80 percent of new cases occur outside known contacts, revealing untracked transmission chains that could spread the epidemic regionally.
• The response faces a $1 billion funding gap and is complicated by armed conflict, healthcare worker strikes, and cultural burial practices.
• Schools in severely affected areas have reopened despite Ebola risks, as authorities prioritized education over remote learning.

“We know that we are making this request at a time when financing for humanitarian assistance has contracted, and when there are many other competing priorities. But as we know from previous Ebola outbreaks, we can control this epidemic if we choose to.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General · Al Jazeera

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO Director-GeneralWorld Health Organization UN health agency coordinating responseU.S. Centers for Disease Control Public health agency monitoring outbreakDemocratic Republic of Congo government National authority responding to outbreak