Hunger threatens to pull Ebola patients out of care in DR Congo

Ebola has spread to an eighth province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where hunger risks forcing patients to interrupt treatment, the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) said Friday.

The WFP said nearly 3.5 million people in outbreak-affected areas face crisis-level food insecurity. It added that insecurity, damaged transport routes and bad weather are hampering relief operations.

A healthcare worker takes samples from a patient suffering from Ebola virus disease at the Ebola Treatment Center of the Center Médical Évangélique (CME), in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 23, 2026. (AFP Photo)

Food assistance and patient care

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Switzerland, WFP country director David Stevenson said food assistance is vital to keeping patients in care and helping families comply with isolation requirements.

“Families need support so that hunger does not force them to interrupt care or take additional risks to find food. Where isolation is required, food assistance helps make it possible to comply,” Stevenson said.

He added that sustaining these services as the outbreak expands helps keep patients in care, supports efforts to protect their families, and limits further spread.

In an operational update, the WFP said 97% of people directly affected by the outbreak still need food assistance. It said infections disrupt livelihoods and access to markets in communities already struggling with conflict and displacement.

A visitor at the CBCA Virunga hospital washes his hands before leaving the hospital as part of Ebola prevention measures in Goma, May 21, 2026. (AFP Photo)

Funding appeal

The agency said it needs $214 million over the next six months to sustain emergency food deliveries, transportation services and the construction of Ebola treatment facilities in eastern Congo. Of that amount, $78.6 million would go toward meals and food rations for patients and their families.

“Without timely, flexible funding, food assistance, responder and cargo transport, and treatment-infrastructure support risk interruption,” the WFP said.

Dr. Jeremie Bataga, a physician at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) of Rwampara General Hospital, poses for a portrait in Bunia, DR Congo, July 13, 2026. (AFP Photo)

Operations so far

The agency has provided more than 744,000 hot meals across 59 treatment and isolation facilities and distributed more than 3,000 metric tons of food to patients’ families. Its humanitarian air service has transported more than 10,000 responders and 483 metric tons of cargo since the operation began.

The WFP has completed an Ebola treatment center in Musienene, while another is under construction in Bunia.

October 23, 2026 04:23 PM GMT+03:00