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DR Congo Ministry of Health
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DR Congo Ministry of Health

DR Congo's national health ministry, which leads the country's outbreak responses.

DR Congo's health ministry said on 27 September 2026 that the Bundibugyo Ebola epidemic was "evolving favourably", after flagging a particular risk when the virus reached Sud-Ubangi, on the borders of two neighbouring states, on 10 September.

Last refreshed: 4 October 2026

Timeline for DR Congo Ministry of Health

#14 10 Sept

Flagged Sud-Ubangi's border risk

Pandemics and Biosecurity: Mentioned in: Ebola reaches Sud-Ubangi by river boat
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Background

DR Congo's Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare is The National health ministry, based in Kinshasa and led by Samuel-Roger Kamba. It leads the country's outbreak responses, including the Bundibugyo Ebola epidemic that began in Ituri Province in 2026.

Africa CDC declared a continental emergency on 16 May 2026 before any formal statement from Kinshasa. On 4 September the ministry launched a revised 180-day response plan with WHO and partners, costed at $1.3bn.

The ministry's tally of affected health zones runs below WHO's cumulative total, so Kinshasa and WHO can describe the same epidemic as shrinking or as spreading.

Key Issues
Ebola response

The ministry reads the curve as falling

On 27 September 2026 the ministry under Samuel-Roger Kamba said the epidemic was "evolving favourably", pointing to falling cases, deaths and test positivity, with 78.3% of known contacts traced. It counts 55 affected health zones, against WHO's cumulative 63, and points to seven zones that have passed 42 days without a case.

The same month opened a new front. After Ebola reached Sud-Ubangi on 10 September, Kinshasa warned that the province's river traffic and two international frontiers made it a special danger. WHO's bulletin 618 accepts a national decline but warns that the aggregate "conceals substantial variation", and MSF says North Kivu now supplies nearly 40% of new cases.

Common Questions
Who is DR Congo's health minister?
Samuel-Roger Kamba is Minister of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare, and leads the response to the 2026 Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak.Source: actualite.cd
What does DR Congo's health ministry say about the Ebola outbreak?
On 27 September 2026 it said the situation was "evolving favourably", citing fewer new cases and deaths, a lower test positivity rate and 78.3% of known contacts followed up.Source: DR Congo Ministry of Health
How much does DR Congo's Ebola response plan cost?
The revised 180-day plan launched on 4 September 2026 by the health ministry, WHO and partners in Kinshasa is costed at US$1.3bn.Source: actualite.cd
Source Material
Ebola : chiffré à 1,3 milliard USD, le plan révisé de 180 jours lancé par la RDC et ses partenaires