Violence in Congo Threatens Fight Against Ebola

After attacks on two Ebola treatment centers in Democratic Republic of Congo last week, Doctors Without Borders says public health workers are “failing” to control the epidemic.

Written byJef Akst

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ABOVE: A checkpoint set up in Port Loko, Sierra Leone, during an outbreak of Ebola that started in 2014. Photo taken May 20, 2015.
© ISTOCK.COM, HARRY1978

Medecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) was forced to pause its work at two treatment centers in the heart of a current Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo after they were badly damaged by two separate attacks. As a result of such violence, the “Ebola response [is] failing to gain the upper hand on the epidemic,” the organization says in a press release.

The outbreak, which began last August, has killed at least 569 people, according to the World Health Organization.

In speaking with reporters today (March 7), MSF’s International President Joanne Liu describes the current atmosphere as “toxic” due to the lack of trust the community has in public health authorities, Reuters reports. To date, there have been more than 30 incidents ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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