World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Thursday, 29 May to assess the country's ongoing Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus — one of the rarer and less-studied strains of the disease. His visit signals the severity of a crisis that health authorities describe as 'very complex.'

Ituri Province at the Epicentre

During his visit, Tedros met Lieutenant-General Johnny Luboya Nkashama, the Governor of Ituri, the province currently reporting the highest number of Ebola cases in the outbreak. In a post on X, Tedros said the two sides agreed that strengthening coordination among all health and humanitarian actors — in alignment with the government's overall leadership — was a key priority for containing the spread.

'During our discussions, we agreed that a key priority for responding to the outbreak is to enhance the coordination among all health and humanitarian actors, ensuring their operations align with the government's overall leadership in managing this response,' Tedros wrote.

Why This Outbreak Is Unusually Difficult to Contain

Tedros described the Ebola situation in Congo as 'very complex,' citing a confluence of factors that are hampering the response: active armed conflict, widespread insecurity, large-scale displacement of civilians, acute food shortages, and deep-rooted community mistrust of health workers. This combination makes contact tracing, safe burials, and vaccination campaigns significantly harder to execute.

Notably, the Bundibugyo strain — first identified in Uganda in 2007 — has a lower case fatality rate than the more notorious Zaire strain but remains dangerous and has fewer proven medical countermeasures. Congo has faced multiple Ebola outbreaks over the past decade, but the intersection of conflict and disease in Ituri adds a layer of complexity not seen in all previous episodes.

India Steps In With Medical Supplies

On Friday, 30 May, India formally expressed its readiness to continue supporting affected countries and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). At a weekly media briefing in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that a first tranche of medical supplies had already been dispatched to the Africa CDC.

The handover was carried out by Indian High Commissioner in Uganda, Upender Singh Rawat, at the Africa CDC's office in Uganda. 'We look forward to further helping in whatever manner we can with the countries and with the Africa CDC in dealing with this public health emergency that has happened on the continent. We will keep you updated as and when we have more developments on that account,' Jaiswal said.

What Comes Next

The WHO chief's ground visit — rare for a sitting Director-General amid an active outbreak — underscores the organisation's intent to keep international attention on a crisis that risks being overshadowed by other global emergencies. Tedros said he came to show affected communities that 'they are not alone.' Further coordination meetings between WHO, Congo's health ministry, and humanitarian partners are expected in the coming days, with India signalling openness to additional tranches of assistance.