The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organisation have called for an urgent expansion of community-led efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, warning that the virus is spreading faster than the current response.

The appeal followed a joint high-level mission to Uganda and the DRC on August 4 and 5, led by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Africa CDC Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya and WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr. Mohamed Janabi.

The delegation visited Kampala, Bunia, and Kinshasa, where they met government officials, frontline health workers, community representatives and response partners to assess progress and identify operational gaps in the fight against the disease.

Africa CDC and WHO praised Uganda for successfully ending its Ebola outbreak on July 28 after recording 20 confirmed cases and two deaths.

Officials said Uganda’s experience demonstrated that early detection, rapid contact tracing, effective community engagement and strong cross-border surveillance remain critical to containing outbreaks.

They said that attention has now shifted to the DRC, where the situation remains severe, particularly in Ituri Province, the epicentre of the outbreak.

During a visit to Bunia, the delegation inspected the Rwangole Ebola Treatment Centre and held discussions with health workers and community leaders facing insecurity, misinformation, poor infrastructure and shortages of essential medical supplies.

According to Africa CDC and WHO, the DRC had reported 3,973 confirmed Ebola cases, 1,801 deaths and 776 recoveries across 51 health zones in five provinces as of August 4. In the previous 24 hours alone, authorities recorded 99 new confirmed cases and 52 deaths.

Speaking after meetings with DRC President and government officials in Kinshasa, Dr. Tedros warned that the outbreak is outpacing response efforts in parts of eastern DRC and called for greater international support and sustained financing.

Dr Kaseya stressed that community trust and participation remain essential to breaking every chain of transmission.

However, Africa CDC and WHO reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the Congolese government through a coordinated response while advising countries to strengthen surveillance and preparedness rather than impose unnecessary travel or trade restrictions.

Officials expressed concern that only 75 percent of identified contacts are currently being monitored, well below the 95 percent target needed to quickly interrupt transmission, noting that treatment centres in North Kivu are operating at 139 percent capacity, placing additional pressure on health workers and response operations.

The organisations urged authorities and partners to strengthen early case detection, expand laboratory and treatment capacity, improve infection prevention in health facilities, ensure timely payment and protection of frontline workers, and bring testing and care services closer to affected communities.