Lead
At least 30 people have died since the beginning of May in Kigonze, a displaced persons camp in Bunia in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, camp officials and aid workers say. Camp leaders and humanitarian sources describe the rate of mortality as far above what is normally seen in the settlement, and some of the recent victims have tested positive for Ebola, a sign the disease could be spreading rapidly within the camp.
Deaths, testing and immediate conditions
Camp spokesperson Desire Grodya Bapi said many of the fatalities presented with symptoms commonly associated with Ebola, including headaches, fever and vomiting. A camp resident and three aid sources also reported the same symptoms among those who died. Grodya said the pattern of deaths was unprecedented for Kigonze, which houses more than 15,000 people.
Kigonze’s camp president, Dz’djo Ndrutsi Etienne, said 10 people were buried in a single week. Grodya said the camp typically recorded between one and three deaths per month.
Health workers have taken samples from five victims, and some of those samples have been reported as positive for Ebola, according to the camp spokesperson and three aid sources. The aid sources confirmed that test results on some of the victims this week were positive but did not specify how many.
Officials and aid staff said full cause-of-death confirmation has been limited because patients or their relatives in Kigonze had until Thursday refused testing, constraining efforts to determine whether all the recent fatalities stem from the virus.
Scenes on the ground
Local Catholic aid organisation Caritas, which provides assistance in Kigonze, reported seeing multiple bodies covered in sheets, including a pregnant woman and children. Justin Zanamuzi, director of Caritas, said his team encountered those scenes while operating in the camp.
Footage shared by a civil society leader on Thursday showed health teams in protective suits disinfecting bodies and preparing small coffins near a crucifix while mourners cried nearby. Aid workers said they encountered significant resistance from families when attempting to have medical staff examine the deceased; according to Caritas, attempts to persuade people to allow inspections were rebuffed.
One camp resident, Kato Lonu, 47, said he lost two children during the recent spate of deaths, including a six-month-old. "These are conditions that no human being should have to live in. If you look around, people are dying one after another," he said.
Wider outbreak context
The national outbreak was officially declared on May 15, but authorities said deaths began earlier in the month. Kigonze is located in Bunia, and the wider province of Ituri has recorded the bulk of confirmed cases in the outbreak; more than 90% of nearly 900 confirmed cases are reported from Ituri, aid workers said. Ebola fatalities have also been recorded in another displacement camp within the province.
Sanitation, funding cuts and exposure risks
Four aid workers interviewed described how degraded water, sanitation and hygiene conditions in camps across eastern Congo have heightened vulnerability to diseases transmitted through bodily fluids, including human waste. They said donors have scaled back or redirected funding for WASH programs, reducing the resources available to maintain toilets and handwashing facilities.
United Nations data cited by aid actors showed that funding specifically for toilets and handwashing stations in Congo fell by more than half between 2024 and 2025, to around $38 million, and that this year’s $80 million appeal for those needs was only 21% funded.
In Kigonze, families commonly share plastic tents packed less than a meter apart and children move through the dirt alleys without shoes. Latrines in the camp are marked with USAID branding; aid workers said the toilets were not sufficient for the population and often overflowed. "The latrines, they fill up very quickly, and people have to empty them themselves, with their bare hands," Grodya said.
U.S. assistance and program changes
Washington has been identified by aid officials as the main supporter of WASH services in Congo and provided over $60 million in WASH assistance in 2024, according to a summary shared by a former USAID official. The Trump administration has defended reductions in some programming, saying it prefers to prioritise what it describes as "hyper-prioritised life-saving humanitarian assistance." Washington has also committed more than $375 million in direct Ebola funding.
Four international aid groups - Mercy Corps, Danish Refugee Council, CARE International and Oxfam - said U.S.-funded WASH projects for displaced people in the three Ebola-affected provinces were scaled back or dropped after last year’s funding adjustments. Mercy Corps said it built 82 water taps and more than 400 public toilets serving over 125,000 displaced people in 2024. This year, the organisation said, funding reductions mean that fewer than 19,000 people are being served by six taps and that there are no public toilets in the areas it now reaches.
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. State Department on the situation in Kigonze.
Humanitarian implications
Camp officials and aid providers say the convergence of high population density, insufficient sanitation, funding shortfalls and reluctance among some residents to accept medical testing is complicating efforts to identify and isolate Ebola cases. With more than 5 million displaced people across eastern Congo, aid workers warn that undetected transmission in a single large camp could carry broader repercussions for public health response capabilities in the region.
What remains unclear
While several samples from victims were taken and some returned positive for Ebola, full confirmation of the causes of all recent deaths in Kigonze has been limited by testing refusals and constrained sanitation infrastructure. Aid workers and camp authorities continue to press residents to cooperate with health teams, but resistance has so far reduced the scope of diagnostic and containment measures.
Reporting for this piece includes information and direct statements provided by camp officials, aid organisations and residents operating in Kigonze and the wider Ituri province.