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Q&A WITH THE TEAM IN DRC


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Dear friend,

As the Ebola outbreak approaches the three-month mark since it was
officially declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it has become the
second largest on record, with more than 4,500 confirmed cases and over
2,100 deaths. These numbers signal that the systems and trust needed to
contain this virus are being pushed to their limits.

Two Mercy Corps leaders closest to the response share what they are seeing
and what it will take to stop this outbreak.

Onesphore Bangenza is Mercy Corps’ Ebola Response Team Leader, based in
Bunia, at the epicenter of the outbreak. Rose Tchwenko is Mercy Corps’
Country Director for DRC, overseeing the full response.

Q: What is it like on the ground right now in Bunia?

Onesphore: "What we are seeing now feels very familiar from 2018, only
this time we are working in a more constrained response environment. We
are still hearing from some people who do not believe Ebola is a disease,
or who believe it can be treated through prayer or traditional medicine
rather than medical care. That kind of delay is dangerous."

Rose: "The question is not whether DRC can fight Ebola. It can, and it
has. The country has faced Ebola before — but this time is different.
Ebola is landing in a humanitarian response already forced to prioritize
the most urgent needs. Health workers are being asked to do more with
less. Gaps in water and sanitation infrastructure are making prevention
harder. Communities already pushed to the brink by hunger, conflict, and
displacement are now facing this too. After 18 months of drastic cuts, the
aid system is still reeling."

Q: What is Mercy Corps doing differently this time?

Onesphore: "The lesson from 2018 is that communities do not change because
they are told once what to do. They change when people they trust are part
of the response. In 2018, survivors speaking on local radio helped people
believe that Ebola was real — because they were hearing from people who
had been sick, received care, and survived. That is still true now. Local
leaders, religious leaders, women and youth groups, local health workers,
transport workers, and survivors can help families seek care early and
accept safe burial without feeling their dignity has been taken away."


[ [link removed] ][IMG]
July 2026, Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A woman washes
her hands at a hand‑washing station as part of efforts to prevent the
spread of the Ebola virus disease in Bunia province of Ituri, epicenter of
the outbreak in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.


Q: What does real preparedness look like — beyond medicine?

Rose: "Preparedness is more than a stockpile, a lab test, or a response
plan. It is the trust between health workers and families seeking care,
between local leaders and community members, and between a survivor’s
testimony and someone afraid to seek care. When those relationships are
strong, the response moves faster. When they are weak, fear fills the gap
— and Ebola gets more time to spread."

Q: What do you need from donors and the global community right now?

Rose: "Donors and response partners must fund the full chain of
containment. That means fast, flexible support for frontline health
workers, surveillance, testing, contact tracing, infection prevention,
clean water, safe access, local responders, and community engagement to
rebuild trust and restore confidence. Underfunding one pillar of the
response slows progress in every pillar."

Onesphore: "In an outbreak where we still do not fully know how far the
virus has spread, losing trust means losing time. And losing time gives
the virus more room to spread."

Mercy Corps has worked in DRC since 2007, supporting communities by
improving access to clean water, strengthening livelihoods, promoting good
governance, and enhancing emergency response. Today, our Ebola response in
Bunia and surrounding areas reaches health facilities, schools, markets,
and transport hubs — the places where transmission risk meets daily life.

With gratitude,

The Mercy Corps Team


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