‘We need to do even more’: World Food Programme calls for greater response to Ebola outbreak
The outbreak – which was officially declared in mid-May – is unfolding amid ongoing violence, creating additional risks for aid workers and civilians.
Motorcycle taxi riders and their passengers wait at the entrance to the central market while sanitation workers disinfect the area, as Ituri province continues to combat an Ebola outbreak in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
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The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is spreading faster than humanitarian responders can contain, the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.
While frontline health workers and aid agencies have been working around the clock since the outbreak was officially declared on May 15, its scale and complexity require an even greater response, said WFP country director David Stevenson.
Delivering aid in eastern DRC remains complicated, Stevenson noted.
“That region is very challenged by (food) insecurity, conflict, displacement and governance challenges, and that means access is very difficult,” he told CNA.
“There are a number of armed groups and other groups involved in eastern DRC … Our role in terms of humanitarian diplomacy, opening up access is constantly challenged. And it’s even more challenging now that we have these new areas of Ebola, which are equally or even more difficult to access.”
Stevenson was speaking to CNA on Wednesday (Jun 3) after travelling to the city of Bunia, along with the World Health Organization’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Bunia is the capital of Ituri province in northeastern DRC, which lies at the heart of the outbreak of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever.
Some 321 cases have now been confirmed in the country, including 48 deaths, while nine confirmed cases have been registered in neighbouring Uganda, including one fatality.
While the Ebola outbreak is concentrated in Africa, its designation as a public health emergency has triggered precautionary measures worldwide, including in Asia.
The current outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no approved vaccines or drugs.
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“WE NEED TO DO EVEN MORE”
The WFP has mobilised aircraft, helicopters and logistics support to move medical supplies and protective equipment into affected areas.
While an international response is now in place, Stevenson stressed the urgency of scaling up operations, saying the epidemic is moving faster than the response.
“We’ve been working flat out for over two weeks now, since the official declaration of Ebola, and it’s admirable to see the first responders in the clinics in the treatment centres doing all they can to push back this epidemic,” he said.
Even when security conditions allow access, poor infrastructure such as non-functional roads presents another major obstacle, said Stevenson.
To overcome these barriers, WFP is expanding helicopter operations through the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service, which it manages.
The service is being used to transport responders, supplies and equipment into hard-to-reach locations, as well as facilitate regional coordination with neighbouring countries including Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.
FOOD ASSISTANCE CENTRAL TO RESPONSE
While health workers remain at the forefront of efforts to contain the virus, Stevenson said addressing hunger and food insecurity is equally important if communities are to support and participate in the response.
Eastern Congo is already grappling with a complex humanitarian crisis marked by conflict, displacement and chronic food shortages.
Stevenson said that in order to overcome deep mistrust and vulnerability caused by decades of instability, humanitarian agencies need to address both the immediate health emergency and the conditions that leave communities more susceptible to its impact.
“We need to look at these underlying causes and set up a community system that meets the needs and preferences of people, so that they will be part of the Ebola response, own it themselves,” he added.
The WFP’s food assistance programme is focused on some of the most vulnerable communities, many of which were already facing severe hunger before Ebola emerged, said Stevenson.
He noted that about 1.7 million people across the DRC’s affected provinces are classified under IPC Phase 4, indicating emergency levels of food insecurity.
“(This is) because not of Ebola, but because of what preceded Ebola,” Stevenson added.
Under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, families under Phase 4 face large food consumption gaps alongside very high acute malnutrition rates and excess deaths. It comes before the most severe phase – or Phase 5 – of hunger, or famine.
Before the outbreak, WFP’s eastern DRC operations were already targeting these 1.7 million people out of an estimated 8 million requiring food assistance in the region.
Across the country, the number of people in need is estimated at 25 million.
Stevenson said the organisation is now reshaping its programmes to focus more heavily on Ebola-affected communities, adjusting food distributions and assistance programmes as quickly as possible.
“We prioritise those communities most affected by this double hit of Ebola and the preceding hunger and food insecurity,” he added.
The goal is not only to support families but also to encourage community participation in disease-control measures by ensuring their basic needs are met, Stevenson said.
IMPACT OF CONFLICT
The outbreak is unfolding amid ongoing violence, creating additional risks for aid workers and civilians.
Stevenson pointed to attacks in the last two weeks in the city of Beni, which lies south of Bunia, as an example of the insecurity affecting humanitarian operations.
One attack occurred between the town and the airport used by humanitarian air services, disrupting movement and increasing security concerns.
“That blocked access right between the airport and the main town of Beni, and increased the insecurity,” Stevenson said.
“If these attacks are occurring right in Beni, there, we have security apparatus and all kinds of arrangements in place to protect humanitarian workers and our colleagues. You can imagine how challenging new security is for civilians, for the people we’re trying to serve in the most remote areas.”
Despite these challenges, Stevenson said he remains optimistic that the outbreak can be brought under control if resources continue to flow and coordination remains strong.
He praised the courage of health workers operating in treatment centres and supporting local health systems.
“We see them every day as we’re trying to deliver them through our air services, and these people are courageous,” he said.
He added that the region possesses significant agricultural and economic potential, but long-term progress will depend on peace and stability.
For now, however, the priority remains clear.
“We need to help them with humanitarian assistance and get through this Ebola pandemic,” Stevenson said.
Source: CNA/lt(ca)
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