Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) (www.AfricaCDC.org) is concerned about the recent attack and destruction of a treatment facility serving communities affected by the Bundibugyo Virus Disease, in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. We strongly condemn all acts of violence against health facilities, healthcare workers, patients, and response teams working tirelessly to protect communities and contain the outbreak.
We recognise that outbreaks such as Bundibugyo Virus Disease generate fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and social distress within affected communities. Families are worried about their safety, livelihoods, loved ones, and the impact of public health measures on their daily lives. These concerns are real and legitimate, and they must be addressed through empathy, transparency, dialogue, and sustained community engagement.
“Communities are not the enemy in an outbreak response. Fear, misinformation, mistrust, and lack of engagement are often the greatest barriers to controlling disease outbreaks,” said H.E. Dr Jea n Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC. “Our responsibility as public health institutions is to provide treatment and technical support, to listen, engage honestly, build trust, and work alongside communities every step of the way.”
At the same time, attacks on treatment centres and response teams place communities at even greater risk. Treatment centres are established to protect communities by providing safe care, isolating infected patients, supporting surveillance and contact tracing, and helping prevent further spread of the disease. When these facilities are attacked or disrupted, outbreaks become harder to contain, frontline workers are endangered, and vulnerable families lose access to life-saving services.
Africa CDC is particularly concerned that community mistrust and misinformation risk becoming a parallel crisis alongside the outbreak itself. The lessons from previous Ebola outbreaks in the region, including the 2018–2020 North Kivu outbreak, demonstrated clearly that outbreaks cannot be contained through technical interventions alone. Community trust is essential to an effective response.
Despite these challenges, there are encouraging signs of progress. The recent discharge of Ebola survivors in Bunia represents a powerful message of hope and recovery that can help strengthen community trust and ownership of the response. Survivors bring lived experience and credibility that can support community engagement efforts, address fears and misconceptions, and encourage timely care-seeking. In addition, the training and deployment of Community Health Workers will further strengthen community awareness, surveillance, infection prevention and control (IPC), and other critical response activities. Together, these efforts will contribute to controlling the outbreak while strengthening the resilience of communities and the health system.
“We must approach communities with humility, respect, and solidarity,” added Dr Kaseya. “Communities must remain at the centre of the Bundibugyo Virus Disease response. The recovery of survivors demonstrates that early detection and quality care save lives. By working alongside communities, supporting frontline health workers, and building trust through meaningful engagement, we can overcome this outbreak together. Protecting health facilities and health workers ultimately means protecting families, protecting communities, and protecting lives.”
Africa CDC therefore reaffirms that Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) remains a core and strategic pillar of the Ebola response. Africa CDC is intensifying support to national authorities and partners through strengthened community engagement, social listening, rumour management, behavioural insights, and community-led approaches aimed at building trust, addressing fears and misinformation, and improving public understanding of the response.
Africa CDC will continue mobilising technical and operational resources to support RCCE coordination, strengthen local engagement capacities, and promote sustained dialogue between responders, local leaders, and affected communities.
Africa CDC calls on all actors to respect and protect healthcare workers, health infrastructure, and affected populations in accordance with humanitarian and public health principles. We further urge all partners and leaders to continue engaging communities with dignity, transparency, cultural sensitivity, and compassion.
Africa CDC stands in solidarity with the Government and people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, frontline responders, and affected communities as they continue efforts to stop the spread of Bundibugyo Virus Disease and protect public health under extremely challenging circumstances.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
