algerianow

DR Congo Faces Twin Crises as Ebola Passes 10,000 Cases and Hunger Deepens

31 October 2026 · Algeria Now

UNITED NATIONS — Nearly 29 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are going hungry as the country battles an Ebola epidemic that has passed 10,000 cases, according to UN reports published this week.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed system that rates hunger on a five-phase scale, said on 30 October that about 28.8 million people, or 23 per cent of the population analysed, are forecast to face high levels of acute food insecurity between September and December. More than 3.6 million of them are in emergency conditions, one step below famine. The worst-hit areas are the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, where 10.4 million people are affected. Four territories, Djugu, Fizi, Shabunda and Walungu, are in the emergency category.

The IPC blames persistent conflict in the east, widespread displacement, the Ebola outbreak, economic shocks and the possible effects of El Niño. It projects that 30.3 million people could be in acute food insecurity from January to June 2027, including 4.2 million in emergency conditions, as rising prices and shrinking humanitarian aid add to the pressure.

The largest outbreak in the country's history

According to Congo's health ministry, as quoted by UN News, the outbreak had reached 10,141 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths as of Monday, with more than 2,600 people recovered. It is the country's 17th Ebola outbreak and its largest, and the second-largest in the world after the West African epidemic of 2014 to 2016. The disease, first declared on 15 May, has now reached eight provinces.

The Bundibugyo virus behind it has no approved vaccine or treatment. On 23 October, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the start of the first clinical trial, called TUMAINI, in Bunia. It will test whether a vaccine used against the Zaire strain, Evebro, protects people through ring vaccination, which targets close contacts of confirmed patients.

The WHO called for continued scale-up of control measures and greater access to affected areas. Al Jazeera reported that about 80 per cent of new cases come from outside known chains of transmission, whereas Africa CDC, the African Union's public health agency, says at least 95 per cent must come from known contacts for an outbreak to be considered under control.

Cross-border risk

Kenya has recorded nine cases and two deaths, all linked to a Kenyan man who worked in Congo and travelled to Nairobi via Uganda on 3 October, UN News reported. A UN humanitarian fund has allocated more than $2 million for preparedness there. Al Jazeera reported that Uganda, which has recorded 20 cases, has ordered a 21-day quarantine for citizens returning from Congo.

More from Algeria Now

{{ hero.ago }} · {{ stT.sum }}

{{ svAllLabel }} ›

> {{ svFeat.catLabel }} {{ svFeat.title }} {{ svFeat.meta }}

{{ mt.whenU }} {{ mt.home.name }}{{ mt.hsL }} {{ mt.away.name }}{{ mt.asL }}

#{{ t.cols.p }}{{ t.cols.gd }}{{ t.cols.pts }}

{{ r.pos }} {{ r.name }} {{ r.played }} {{ r.gdLabel }} {{ r.pts }}

{{ s.rank }} {{ s.name }}{{ s.team }} {{ s.goals }}

“

DR Congo Faces Twin Crises as Ebola Passes 10,000 Cases and Hunger Deepens

More from Algeria Now

{{ svCur.title }}

{{ SB.title }}

{{ art.title }}

{{ p.text }}

{{ nxT.same }}

{{ searchTitle }}

Your daily window into Algeria

{{ VT.videos }}

{{ svStTitle }}

{{ g.label }}

{{ t.loginTitle }}

{{ t.archives }}

{{ t.advSearch }}

{{ hero.title }}

{{ une2.title }}

{{ stT.k1 }}

{{ VT.videos }}

{{ t.scores }}

{{ t.table }}

{{ st.scorers }}

{{ VT.sport }}

{{ sec.label }}

{{ it.title }}

{{ t.feed }}

{{ catListTitle }}