World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Kinshasa late Thursday, two weeks after the Democratic Republic of Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak.
Tedros had been scheduled to travel Friday to Ituri, a remote northeastern province at the epicenter of the outbreak, but the trip was delayed by a day.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported at least 1,077 suspected cases, including 246 deaths, since the outbreak was declared May 15.
Health authorities warn the actual spread may be wider than reported, as the DRC has limited laboratory capacity to confirm cases.
The virus has already reached three provinces and crossed into neighboring Uganda, where seven infections, including one death, have been confirmed.
“The situation is serious, but that thing can be stopped,” Tedros said upon arrival. He assured Congolese citizens in a message on X that “you are not alone” in facing the outbreak.
Ebola, transmitted through close contact and bodily fluids, has claimed more than 15,000 lives in Africa over the past five decades.
The deadliest DRC outbreak from 2018 to 2020 killed nearly 2,300 people out of 3,500 cases.
The WHO chief’s visit is aimed at coordinating international support and reinforcing efforts to contain the highly contagious virus amid ongoing conflict and logistical challenges in the mineral-rich eastern regions of the country.
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