Health facilities in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo were attacked last week amid disputes over Ebola burial protocols, according to aid groups and local sources. The incidents in Ituri province, which included the burning of a medical tent and the storming of a health center, occurred as officials reported a rising number of cases in the region.
On Thursday in Rwampara, a group of residents entered a health center demanding the bodies of relatives who had died from the Ebola virus, according to government partners involved in the public health response. The following day in Mongbwalu, a tent at a hospital provided by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was set on fire.
In a statement, the NGO Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) said the fire in Mongbwalu happened after the death of a patient who had shown symptoms of the Ebola virus. “While the body was being prepared for burial, tensions flared, resulting in the burning of two tents,” ALIMA reported. The organization confirmed its teams were able to secure the body for a safe burial in accordance with health protocols.
Health officials have stated that specific burial procedures are necessary to prevent the transmission of the virus. The Congolese health minister, Roger Kamba, told Radio France Internationale that the bodies of Ebola victims remain highly contagious and require handling by trained teams. “The dead must not take others with them into the grave,” Kamba said.
These health measures conflict with local customs, where it is common for relatives to gather and touch the body of the deceased. Lokana Jean, a resident of Mongbwalu, told Al Jazeera he was unable to observe traditional rites for his daughter who died from the virus last month. “It still upsets me that I had to watch her funeral helplessly without our cultural rites,” he said.
Community resistance is also being fueled by misinformation, according to some residents and health experts. “Some people here believe that Ebola is a business,” said Gloire Idriss, a Rwampara resident. “When healthcare providers refuse to hand over the bodies of those who have died from Ebola, people think they might be trafficking their organs.”
Dr. Rodriguez Kisando, a physician specializing in health and the environment, told Al Jazeera that such rumors can lead to violence if not countered with accurate information.
As of May 25, the Congolese Ministry of Public Health had recorded nearly 800 cases and approximately 180 deaths from the outbreak. In response, authorities in Ituri province have limited public gatherings, suspended wake services, and prohibited the movement of bodies between locations.
The public health response is facing resource shortages. A senior Congolese official in Rwampara, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that treatment centers were overwhelmed and receiving new confirmed cases almost daily. ALIMA has also stated that resources for detecting, treating, and preventing the virus are “severely inadequate” and has called for more international support.
The outbreak has prompted a regional alert. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has placed 10 nearby countries on high alert. The governments of the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan have agreed to increase cross-border coordination, including surveillance and border monitoring, to manage the spread of the disease.
