Joint Press Release: USCRI and...
NAIROBI, KENYA – This month, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) Kenya and the American Relief Agency for...
READ FULL STORYBy Kate Heslin, USCRI Intern
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is combatting the fastest spreading Ebola outbreak on record and the largest outbreak the country has ever experienced. While thousands are affected, it is impacting displaced women and girls the most.
This outbreak, which was officially declared in May 2026, was caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare species of the virus that causes Ebola. Unlike other, more common strains, Bundibugyo Ebola has no World Health Organization-approved treatment or vaccine, making cases exceedingly difficult to contain when they do occur. Women and girls in the region are falling ill at disproportionate rates, with women accounting for over 54 percent of Ebola cases in the country.
Bundibugyo is most gravely impacting the eastern region of the DRC, where Ebola infections are surging at unprecedented rates.
Why Ituri is the Epicenter
Ituri Province, which is located along the DRC’s eastern border with Uganda, is the epicenter of the outbreak. It is also home to one of the country’s most vulnerable populations, housing over two-thirds of the country’s 5.3 million internally displaced people and over 30,000 South Sudanese refugees fleeing violence in their home country.
In Ituri, temporary housing camps for refugees and internally displaced people are a prime location for Ebola spread. Living quarters are close. Communal water sources are sparse and split between thousands of residents, making regular handwashing nearly impossible. The rural location of Ituri’s displacement camps limits healthcare access, with the nearest health centers being miles away. Beyond this, foreign assistance cuts have left community health workers overwhelmed and unprepared to deal with a sudden influx of acute cases, forcing families to care for their infected loved ones on their own without adequate protection. These are the precise conditions in which the highly contagious Ebola virus thrives.
Women Carry the Heaviest Burden
Girls and women in Ituri are bearing the brunt of this outbreak. Women often serve as designated caregivers, putting them in direct and prolonged contact with Ebola patients when family members become sick. This close contact is only exacerbated by the cramped temporary living conditions in Ituri’s displacement camps, as well as the absence of well-funded humanitarian efforts to combat disease in the area. Additionally, pregnancy is an underrecognized Ebola risk factor. The travel required to make prenatal care visits forces women to break quarantine protocol, putting them directly in harm’s way. This is especially true for women in displacement camps, where maternal health clinics are often far away and require expectant mothers to traverse crowded areas or take public transport to reach them, increasing their risk of exposure.
A Crisis Within the Crisis
The disease itself is not Ebola’s greatest impact on displaced women in Ituri. The rise in Ebola cases coincides with an increase in reports of sexual and domestic violence. Displaced women in Ituri are also facing a humanitarian crisis. Crowded conditions, increased caregiving responsibilities, and broader unrest and instability surrounding the Ebola outbreak are weakening community protection mechanisms and increasing women’s and girls’ vulnerability to violence, exploitation, and abuse.
This is all set against a backdrop of widespread conflict-related sexual violence in the eastern DRC. Across Ituri and other eastern provinces, rape is being used as a weapon of war. The escalation of conflict in the eastern DRC, including clashes involving Rwandan-sponsored rebel forces, has coincided with an increase in sexual violence cases as well as the scaling-back of most aid efforts aimed at supporting survivors. Women of all ages, including teenage girls, have reported rapes by soldiers. Nearby health centers, which used to receive foreign aid funding, are facing shortages of pregnancy tests and post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, forcing women to make days-long journeys to larger hospitals in order to receive care. For those living in displacement camps in Ituri, this looming threat of militia violence – both sexual and physical – represents yet another phase in the cycle of violence and displacement that caused them to flee their homes in the first place.
What Must Change
The international community cannot ignore the needs of women and girls in Ituri any longer. Ebola is a health emergency, but it is also a protection emergency, and the response must treat it as both. The dissolution of humanitarian programs aimed at addressing women and girls’ needs, as well as the lack of international funding dedicated to Ebola response must be addressed and rectified. Furthermore, conflict-related sexual violence is a violation of international law. All States and the broader international community should create clear pathways towards accountability, as well as ensure access to critical services and justice for survivors.
Individuals can help keep this crisis from fading from view. Share information about what is happening in Ituri and Eastern DRC, and uplift the voices of displaced communities, survivors, and the organizations who support them.
To learn more about what is happening in the DRC, read USCRI’s resources below:
