Congo Ebola health workers protest unpaid wages, disrupting response as deaths top 1,800
Congolese health workers are protesting unpaid wages at the epicenter of a major Ebola outbreak, leading to the abandonment of several medical facilities. The outbreak has resulted in over 1,800 deaths, and officials warn that the labor dispute is hindering containment efforts.
Why it matters
The disruption of medical services during a public health crisis threatens to accelerate the spread of a deadly disease in a vulnerable region.
BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Dozens of Congolese health workers at the epicenter of the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record staged protests Thursday to demand payment for their wages, abandoning several health facilities even as aid workers warn that the disease is still spreading at an alarming rate.
Confirmed cases in the outbreak, meanwhile, reached 3,973, including 1,801 deaths, according to the government data as of Tuesday published on Thursday. It is the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, behind the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak that recorded more than 28,000 cases, including over 11,000 deaths.
The health workers are protesting at the governor’s office in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90% of the Ebola cases in the country. They are the latest group to walk off their jobs since protests over pay issues began weeks ago.
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