The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has issued an urgent appeal to Congolese authorities, demanding immediate salary payments and protection for nurses leading the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15, but three months later, the health response remains severely under-resourced. Healthcare facilities in one of the world’s poorest nations are struggling with severe funding shortages, hampering efforts to contain the virus.

“You cannot fight Ebola without paying those on the front lines,” declared Howard Catton, ICN Chief Executive Officer. The Council represents over 140 national nursing associations, encompassing more than 30 million nurses worldwide.

“Nurses and healthcare workers risk their lives to protect communities, often at great personal cost. Yet, months into this crisis, many still await unpaid salaries,” he added.

In a formal letter to DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba, the ICN called for immediate action to ensure prompt payment and safeguard healthcare workers battling the epidemic.

According to the ICN, nurses and frontline health professionals report unpaid wages spanning two to three months.

“This situation demands urgent political leadership and direct intervention. Our demands are clear: pay healthcare workers what they are owed, guarantee regular payments moving forward, and provide the protection they need to do their jobs,” Mr. Catton emphasized.

Beyond immediate salary and risk allowance disbursements, the ICN urges authorities to ensure consistent future payments and supply adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), insurance, hazard allowances, and other critical protections.

Funding gaps persist

The DRC’s most devastating Ebola outbreak claimed nearly 2,300 lives out of 3,500 confirmed cases between 2018 and 2020. The current epidemic has already resulted in over 2,128 deaths from 4,566 confirmed cases within just three months of its declaration, according to the latest official figures.

“This is already the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded, and it is spreading faster than any previous one,” warned the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Wednesday. “At the current rate, it is on track to surpass the West Africa Ebola outbreak of 2014–2016.”

Three months into the crisis, the DRC has recorded seven times more cases and five times more deaths than the first three months of the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which struck West Africa, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Of the $518 million required for the joint preparedness and response plan launched in early June by Africa CDC and WHO, only $264 million has been mobilized to date, Tedros noted this week.

No specific vaccine or treatment is currently available for the Bundibugyo variant driving the outbreak.

In the absence of a targeted vaccine, the WHO is advocating for a clinical trial using the Ervebo vaccine, which is approved for the Zaire strain of the virus.

“We are preparing to submit the protocol for review to DRC regulatory authorities,” said Vasee Moorthy, WHO’s Research & Development Program Head, on Wednesday.