Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, highlighted the recovery of five Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a meeting with President Félix Tshisekedi.

According to details shared today by the Congolese Presidency on social networks, both parties addressed national response measures against the epidemic caused by the Bundibugyo strain, as well as the DRC's recognized expertise in fighting the Ebola virus, forged through the management of 17 consecutive outbreaks since 1976.

“I have two pieces of good news: the recovery of the first five Ebola patients and the construction of a 60-bed treatment center in Bunia,” located in the Ituri province, declared Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the end of the meeting held the previous day.

This Monday, the WHO Director-General also participated in a meeting led by Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka, which was attended by members of the diplomatic corps and international partners collaborating with the DRC.

Following a government mission to Bunia, the Head of Government instructed the strengthening of coordination and the adjustment of interventions to adapt the response to the realities observed on the ground. She particularly called for a greater mobilization of technical and financial partners. She also indicated the upcoming reopening of the Bunia airport to facilitate response operations and the delivery of aid.

Regarding the meeting, Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on his X account expressing his gratitude to the Congolese Prime Minister for providing the opportunity to brief the diplomatic corps in Kinshasa on the response to the Ebola outbreak.

“I briefed ambassadors on my mission to Ituri, the province most affected by the outbreak, and on WHO's support for the government-led response. This includes strengthening epidemiological surveillance, infection prevention and control, and patient care, including through an Ebola treatment center opened on Sunday,” he detailed.

He reiterated his call to the international community to provide the necessary support to contain the outbreak, in alignment with the DRC's leadership in the response, using this crisis as an opportunity to strengthen the health system.

“I also encouraged countries not to impose travel restrictions on the DRC, thereby ensuring that healthcare and humanitarian assistance reach the scale necessary to control the outbreak quickly. Solidarity is our best defense against this outbreak,” he noted.