A woman has her temperature checked at the newly inaugurated Ebola treatment center, Rwakole, Bunia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, August 4, 2026. (Photos: CFP)
Women and children continue to bear the brunt of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the epidemic is deepening a humanitarian crisis in the conflict-hit province of Ituri, the United Nations said on Friday.
The outbreak is unfolding in a region where nearly one million people have been displaced, with women and children making up about 80% of the displaced population, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said children account for nearly one-third of Ebola-related deaths, despite representing about a quarter of confirmed cases.
Maternal deaths nearly double as fear keeps patients away
The outbreak is also severely disrupting access to essential healthcare. In the areas hardest hit by Ebola, the use of health services has fallen by more than 40% in recent months as fear of infection discourages people from seeking treatment, UNICEF said.
The UN Population Fund warned that fear of Ebola and overstretched health services are preventing many pregnant women from accessing maternal care.
Maternal deaths in Ituri have nearly doubled since the outbreak began, with an average of about six women dying each week from childbirth-related complications.
Ebola infection during pregnancy remains associated with an extremely high risk of fetal loss, the agency added.
Relatives of Ebola patients crying outside the Ebola treatment center of the General Hospital, Bunia, Ituri Province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, July 22, 2026.
Massive outreach effort targets misinformation
OCHA said rebuilding public trust is critical to containing the outbreak.
UNICEF and its partners, working alongside the DRC Ministry of Public Health, the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, have deployed about 13,000 community workers.
The teams have reached more than 2.4 million people with information on Ebola prevention and early detection and conducted more than 500,000 household visits to combat misinformation and encourage early treatment.