WHO: Congo Running Short of Health Workers as Ebola 'Remains Out of Control'; DRC Toll Climbs to 7,773 Cases, 3,759 Deaths

The Associated Press reported 23 September 2026 that DRC health authorities recorded 7,773 confirmed cases and 3,759 deaths as of Monday, 21 September — up from 7,672 cases and 3,699 deaths in the prior (19 September) report — as the World Health Organization warned Congo is running short of health workers to staff treatment centers for history's fastest-growing Ebola outbreak. Between 31 August and 20 September, cases fell 26% in Ituri province (the epicenter) and 15% in Haut-Uélé, but surged 73% over three weeks in North Kivu. WHO Regional Emergency Director for Africa Dr. Marie Roseline Belizaire said 'while cases and deaths are declining in some provinces, they continue to rise in others.' WHO Ebola Incident Manager Catherine Smallwood said 'the human resources gap is one of the biggest gaps,' noting a single treatment center requires roughly 300 health professionals — anesthetists, hygienists, nurses and general practitioners — and that added beds sit understaffed even as construction continues. WHO DRC Representative Anne Ancia said 'we are building Ebola treatment centers but do not always have the human resources,' while DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba pointed to government efforts to verify and fix health-worker payroll amid a health workers' strike over unpaid wages in Ituri. Children under five continue to face a disproportionate toll, with a case-fatality rate exceeding 60% versus roughly 40% among adults. A same-day UN News report (marking 130+ days since the outbreak's declaration) added that nearly 88% of identified contacts are under active follow-up nationally, one in three new cases is still identified only after the patient has died outside a treatment center, and the response now runs 49 Ebola treatment centers with roughly 1,400 beds and 25 laboratories capable of processing up to 2,500 tests daily. The outbreak, already the deadliest and largest ever recorded in DRC, remains on track per AP to surpass the 2014-16 West Africa epidemic's 11,310-death toll.