Here’s Why This Ebola Outbreak Is A Challenge For Officials To Contain

BreakingBusinessHere’s Why This Ebola Outbreak Is A Challenge For Officials To ContainByMary Whitfill Roeloffs,Forbes Staff. Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.Follow AuthorMay 27, 2026, 10:55am EDTToplineHealth officials are warning the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is “outpacing” containment efforts and approaching a "catastrophic” tipping point as workers struggle to effectively treat cases and contain spread due to a series of violent clashes in a decades-old conflict (see live updates on the outbreak here). A health worker wearing protective equipment crouches beside the coffin of a suspected Ebola victim on May 24, 2026 in Mongbwalu, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.Getty ImagesKey FactsWorld Health Organization director general Tedros Ghebreyesus on Wednesday warned the Eastern DRC is facing a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict,” and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited “ongoing security concerns” as a major barrier to providing support to the region. Violence in the country has been ongoing to various degrees since the Second Congo War started in 1998, and militias backing the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups, respectively, have killed more than 50,000 people, raided villages, attacked hospitals and displaced millions over nearly three decades. The conflict is rooted in deep ethnic resentment—and a fight for land and minerals in the gold-rich province of Ituri—that has been building for more than 100 years, since Congo was under Belgian colonial rule, and despite occasional progress has resulted in generations of governmental neglect and a resulting distrust of authority, foreigners, volunteers and aid workers. Relations between the Hema and Lendu communities have severely deteriorated since 2017, when the Lendu-linked CODECO militia reemerged and resumed violence against civilians, including village raids that have reportedly displaced more than 1 milli...