More than 300 children have died since mid-May in the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Friday, August 7th, 2026. Children represent nearly a quarter of confirmed cases but account for almost a third of all deaths.

The outbreak is concentrated in Ituri province, where nearly one million people have been displaced by conflict, with women and children making up around 80 percent of the displaced population, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Women and children continue to bear a disproportionate share of the outbreak's impact.

The health crisis is severely disrupting essential healthcare services. UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq stated in New York that in the hardest-hit areas, use of health services has dropped by more than 40 percent in recent months due to fear of infection. This has prevented many pregnant women from seeking care, contributing to roughly six maternal deaths weekly from childbirth complications. Ebola infection during pregnancy is also linked to almost universal fetal loss.

To address the outbreak, some 13,000 community workers have been deployed by the Congolese health ministry and partners, including the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO convened advisory groups following the declaration of the Bundibugyo species outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 16th, 2026.

Health experts have urged trials of the only vaccine against the disease to help halt further spread of the rare Bundibugyo strain.

Sources