WHO chief visits epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo as cases outpace response

The head of the World Health Organization Saturday arrived in Congo’s Bunia, a city at the heart of an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola.

The head of the World Health Organization on Saturday visited eastern Congo’s Bunia, a city at the heart of an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola, where the virus is spreading faster than the response despite better-organized health facilities and new aid arrivals.

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WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the importance of building community trust, ensuring safe burials to prevent the spread of the outbreak and urged countries to reconsider travel bans and border closures, saying they “discourage transparency.”

“The Democratic Republic of Congo has faced Ebola before, 16 times, and has ended every outbreak. This is the 17th. That history gives me real confidence,” Tedros said during a news conference Saturday alongside Congo’s health minister.