BUNIA: More than 2,500 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak, which is spreading exponentially in an area larger than France, United Nations Ebola coordinator Julien Harneis said on Friday.

Speaking on a video call from the north-eastern Congolese city of Bunia, Harneis called for more aid, saying an existing pool of funds is set to run out within weeks.

Health workers there were coming under attack by locals angered and terrified by the outbreak, and were themselves falling sick and dying from the disease, he added.

Congo’s 17th Ebola epidemic became the biggest in the country’s history in terms of the number of cases late last month, surpassing the previous worst outbreak from 2018 to 2020.

It is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has no approved vaccine or treatment. “The Ebola outbreak is growing exponentially,” Harneis said.

“The epidemic is spreading to an area that is bigger than France, and the outbreak is growing faster and wider than the Ebola response. And all of this is happening in an area that has had three decades of conflict and is generating huge humanitarian needs.”

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2026