Beni
City in North Kivu, DR Congo; an epicentre of the 2018-2020 Ebola epidemic.
Beni's 2018 history of Ebola distrust returned to view after Butembo's governing-party leader died from an attack on 27 September 2026; Beni health zone had 163 confirmed Bundibugyo cases and 121 deaths by 5 September.
Last refreshed: 4 October 2026
Timeline for Beni
Mentioned in: UDPS official beaten to death in Butembo
Pandemics and BiosecurityBackground
Beni is a city in North Kivu Province, DR Congo. Its health zone counted 163 confirmed Bundibugyo cases and 121 deaths in DR Congo's situation report of 5 September 2026, a case-fatality ratio of 74.2%. On 21 September communication, psychosocial and community staff in Beni's response stopped work, saying they were owed three to four months of allowances, actualite.cd reported. North Kivu now supplies nearly 40% of new confirmed cases nationally, according to MSF.
Beni was an epicentre of the 2018-2020 Zaire ebolavirus epidemic. Hazard-pay disputes repeatedly stopped work at treatment centres in Beni and Butembo then. In December 2018 the presidential vote in both cities was cancelled on Ebola grounds, a decision many residents read as political.
That history shapes the response now. Armed groups operate around Beni and Butembo and killings there are frequent, so violence in the area cannot be read as Ebola-related without proof.