Unpaid Workers Strike in Eastern Congo as Ebola Tracing Struggles
Unpaid health workers in eastern Congo have gone on strike, disrupting Ebola contact tracing and closing a treatment center amid a fast-growing outbreak.
Community health workers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are struggling to contain the country's fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, as a strike by unpaid staff has forced the temporary closure of a treatment center in Nizi.
Gédéon Banga Ngbape, who leads contact tracing in Nizi, said his team continues to fan out daily to track down people who may have been exposed to the virus. However, he noted that health workers have not been paid in over three months, and field staff face severe mobility constraints.
On Thursday, workers at the Nizi Treatment Center went on strike, halting operations. The surveillance system, which investigates dozens of alerts each day and seeks to bring symptomatic individuals into care, is increasingly failing to keep pace with the outbreak.
Ngbape warned that if surveillance falters, the entire response suffers. His teams receive an average of 60 to 70 alerts daily.
Government data shows the outbreak has 4,381 confirmed cases, including 2,011 deaths. The death toll has climbed nearly three times faster than the 2014-16 West Africa epidemic, the worst on record. The outbreak was officially declared on May 15, but sequencing indicates it began months earlier, in February.
Community liaison Ana Ndroy Kasime said awareness efforts have improved hygiene practices, with residents now following hand-washing guidelines and avoiding contact with bodies of the deceased. However, she said workers like her lack basic protective supplies.
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo Ebola virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments, though trials are underway. The response has also been hindered by rebel group threats, community anger, and misinformation denying the virus's existence.