Ebola ‘must not have final say’ bishops tell Congolese citizens

The outbreak grew from 53 confirmed cases in Ituri on 19 May to 5,713 confirmed cases nationwide by 25 August, with 2,744 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 48 per cent, alongside 770 isolated patients and 1,269 recovered patients.

Bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo urged all citizens to support efforts to contain the country’s seventeenth Ebola outbreak, insisting that the epidemic “must not have the final say”. 

A communiqué from the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO), signed by its president Archbishop Fulgence Muteba of Lubumbashi, expressed concern about the rapid increase in Ebola infections and deaths since the outbreak was declared by the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare on 15 May, but insisted that disaster “is not an inevitability”.  

“Truly, this Ebola virus epidemic is a severe trial and a threat to our population that must be taken with the utmost seriousness,” said the communiqué published on 3 September. “We must mobilise to fight and overcome it.” 

According to official figures cited by CENCO, the outbreak had grown from 53 confirmed cases in Ituri on 19 May to 5,713 confirmed cases nationwide by 25 August. It recorded 2,744 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 48 per cent, alongside 770 isolated patients and 1,269 recovered patients. 

CENCO warned that these figures could increase as a significant number of suspected cases remain unreported outside healthcare facilities, making contact tracing more difficult.

The bishops praised healthcare workers and volunteers for their courage and dedication in responding to the epidemic, urging them to continue serving despite difficult working conditions. They called for greater material and logistical support for healthcare facilities, saying many are inadequately equipped with the protective and preventive materials required to combat the disease. 

“Some receive inadequate supplies with recurring stockouts. Some facilities report receiving no supplies at all, leading to the death of several healthcare workers,” CENCO said, describing the situation as “deeply worrying”, warning of low morale among healthcare workers.

The bishops commended the efforts of the Ministry of Public Health, national and international partners involved in the response, including Caritas Congo and diocesan Caritas offices. With support from the Catholic Relief Services, the bishops said they would provide material assistance to diocesan Caritas structures in Ituri, particularly those in Bunia, Wamba through its Mambasa branch, and Mahagi-Nioka. 

They also thanked Pope Leo XIV for his pastoral concern for the Congolese people, his prayers and his call for increased international support to curb the epidemic.

CENCO identified misinformation, disinformation and inadequate access to reliable information as significant obstacles to controlling the outbreak. 

Some people continue to attribute Ebola to bad luck or witchcraft, while certain cultural practices related to treatment and funeral rites have contributed to resistance against preventive measures, the bishops warned, noting that such resistance has at times escalated into attacks on response workers and the burning of treatment centres.

“These behaviours – which must be discouraged – alongside the deplorable war conditions affecting our country, contribute heavily to the spread of infections,” they said.

The bishops urged citizens to follow instructions from competent health authorities, including frequent handwashing with soap and water or the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and the avoidance of physical contact – including during the sign of peace in Catholic churches across the country, even in dioceses outside officially affected provinces.

CENCO also urged people to cook food thoroughly, avoid eating meat from dead animals, and refrain from consuming raw food.  They warned against contact with blood, bodily fluids and belongings of sick people such as clothing and bedsheets. 

Citizens should not handle the bodies of deceased persons but leave such procedures to medical professionals, the bishops said, and should promptly take anyone showing symptoms, including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, bleeding or blood in the urine to the nearest health facility.

The bishops asked parish priests and directors of diocesan pastoral centres to implement Ebola prevention and response plans through Living Ecclesial Communities and Catholic Action Movements. The initiatives were launched in July by the Episcopal Commission for Evangelisation and Caritas Congo. 

Each diocesan should assess the risk of infection and transmission in collaboration with local health authorities and to adopt concrete measures, CENCO said, including adapting wakes and funeral liturgies where necessary.

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