Health workers at an Ebola treatment center in eastern Congo have initiated a strike, demanding overdue bonuses and disrupting care for patients amid a rapidly escalating outbreak. Approximately one hundred staff members at the Elikya Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia, Ituri province, halted work on Saturday, citing two months of unpaid performance bonuses as the reason for their walkout.
"We need to be paid, because in the meantime the disease is spreading at the treatment center," Martin Bolombi, one of the striking health workers, stated. "A solution must be found for us."
The strike began just one day after Congolese Prime Minister Judith Suminwa visited Ituri to assess the response to the outbreak, facing similar protests regarding payment issues from healthcare personnel during her visit to treatment hubs.
Government data released Friday indicates that confirmed Ebola cases in Congo have reached 2,973, with 1,309 deaths attributed to the outbreak, which authorities describe as the fastest on record. The Elikya Treatment Center in Bunia is located in the epicenter of the growing epidemic.
This is not the first instance of industrial action. Last week, health workers at Bunia General Hospital, the region's largest medical facility, also went on strike due to unpaid salaries, with some reporting they had not received any payment since the outbreak began.
Dr. Adelard Lufungula, operations manager for the Ebola response, said that the payment issue is being addressed. He noted that workers are now being paid via mobile money, a change from cash payments, and that the backlog is expected to be cleared in the coming days.
The outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, has been ongoing since May 15. Ituri province accounts for nearly 90% of the confirmed cases. A total of 766 patients remain hospitalized or in isolation, while 540 have recovered, according to the Congolese Ministry of Health.
The response efforts face significant challenges, including armed conflict, displacement due to illegal mining, and mistrust within local communities, which hinder contact tracing. The outbreak also continues to spread faster than health officials can track. A key difficulty is that the initial patient, or "patient zero," has not been identified.
Furthermore, the response is hampered by a funding gap and attacks on health centers. Unlike previous outbreaks caused by the more common Zaire virus, for which a vaccine exists, there are no approved vaccines or treatments specifically for the Bundibugyo virus. However, a study of two potential Ebola treatments has recently begun enrollment in Ituri.
More than 100 healthcare workers have contracted Ebola since the outbreak commenced, according to the World Health Organization. The WHO assesses the global risk of the outbreak spreading beyond Central Africa as low, as Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids and not airborne, making it less easily spread than respiratory viruses.