WHO chief: Ebola outbreak outpacing response as aid workers strike over pay
The WHO reports that the Ebola outbreak in Congo is spreading faster than the current response, exacerbated by strikes from health workers demanding better pay. The U.S. has pledged additional funding to support containment efforts.
Why it matters
The combination of a public health crisis and labor disputes in a conflict-prone region poses a significant threat to regional and global health security.
The world’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak is spreading faster than efforts to fight it, the head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday during a visit to Congo where some health workers are striking over a lack of pay. Nearly three months into the outbreak, new cases are doubling in some hot spots, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X after meeting with officials in the capital, Kinshasa. It was the second visit by the WHO director-general to the Central African country since the outbreak was declared in mid-May. “We all agree that we must urgently and massively scale up all our efforts across all pillars of the response and by all partners,” Tedros said. The outbreak has accounted for 3,874 confirmed cases, including 1,751 deaths, as of Monday, according to the latest data from Congo’s Ministry of Health.
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