The DRC is the epicentre of an Ebola outbreak, with displaced families among the most vulnerable.
WHO has declared the latest outbreak of Ebola in the DRC and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.
Eastern DRC is extremely vulnerable due to ongoing conflict and instability. Fighting has intensified in recent months, displacing thousands of families and hampering life-saving health operations.
In addition to internally displaced Congolese, the affected regions host a number of refugees, especially from South Sudan. After fleeing violence and disaster, they now face a deadly virus.
Cuts to international aid have had a severe impact in DRC, with a shortage of essential prevention supplies such as soap and masks.
With support from donors, UNHCR is responding as quickly as possible. In DRC, teams are conducting community awareness sessions, distributing soap, masks and hand sanitiser, and installing handwashing stations.
UNHCR is also working in Uganda to scale up infection prevention and control in camps and settlements.
After surviving horrific violence, refugee and displaced families are now facing the deadly Ebola virus. Please give generously.
Your donation in action
Your support can help save lives and prevent a wider humanitarian crisis.
Your generous gift today can improve sanitation facilities such as handwashing stations in camps and settlements. Your gift can also deliver essential protective hygiene supplies such as soap, masks and hand sanitiser, helping to reduce the spread of this deadly disease.
Your gift can help educate vulnerable communities about Ebola and how to protect themselves from the virus.
Your gift can improve sanitation in camps and settlements by installing more handwashing stations.
Your gift can provide vital hygiene supplies such as soap, hand sanitiser and face masks, helping people protect themselves.
Ebola Emergency FAQs
What difference will a donation make?
Your donation can help UNHCR educate displaced communities about the risk of Ebola and promote good hygiene and sanitation practices, helping people protect themselves. Your gift can also help UNHCR improve sanitation facilities in settlements and deliver vital hygiene supplies like soap to families in need.
How is UNHCR responding?
UNHCR teams are working rapidly to help contain the virus by educating displaced communities in DRC about Ebola, installing or upgrading sanitation facilities in settlements, and distributing hygiene supplies such as soap and masks. UNHCR is also coordinating with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and national partners on the emergency response to the outbreak.
Why are refugees and displaced people particularly vulnerable?
Unfortunately, after being forced to flee, many refugees and displaced people in the DRC and Uganda are living in crowded conditions such as temporary settlements, with limited access to hygiene or sanitation facilities. This dramatically increases the risk of transmission. The affected provinces in eastern DRC have also endured armed conflict, which has weakened the healthcare system.
Is there a vaccine?
No. Unlike previous Ebola outbreaks, this has been caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. There is no approved vaccine or treatment.
What is Ebola?
Ebola is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and primates.
It is an infectious viral haemorrhagic fever, transmitted to humans through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected animals. Human-to-human transmission occurs through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals.
What is the current situation in the DRC?
There is a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with more than 900 suspected cases and 200 deaths as of 28 May.
The outbreak is affecting Ituri and North Kivu provinces, which host two million displaced people. Most are Congolese who have been internally displaced by conflict and violence. Others are refugees from countries including South Sudan and Burundi.
Uganda also has a number of confirmed cases of the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
Page last updated: 1 June 2026
This is an active emergency. Information on this page will be updated as the situation evolves.
Our fundraising impact
The majority of funds raised by Aotearoa New Zealand for UNHCR are directed to UNHCR’s emergency operations, providing the ready funds and resources to respond quickly and effectively in situations of crisis and disaster.