Radio Okapi
UN-backed radio network covering DR Congo, source of first reports on Ituri's Ebola-strained health posts.
Last refreshed: 21 July 2026
UN radio broke both Ituri Ebola stories this week; who else is covering the outbreak on the ground?
Timeline for Radio Okapi
Mentioned in: Ebola staff abandon a Bunia ward
Pandemics and BiosecurityMentioned in: Nine of twelve Djugu posts shut
Pandemics and BiosecurityBackground
Radio Okapi reported on 15 July that nine of the twelve health posts in Djugu Territory's Heritage health area had closed after being overwhelmed by patient numbers during the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, and separately reported the 13 July staff walkout at Bunia's Rwampara Ebola Treatment Centre. It remains the primary source for both stories: DR Congo's own health authorities have not independently confirmed the Djugu sector chief's death toll.
Radio Okapi is the UN's radio network in DR Congo, created under UN Security Council Resolution 1291 by the peacekeeping mission (now MONUSCO) and the Swiss NGO Fondation Hirondelle, first broadcasting nationwide from Kinshasa in February 2002. It runs five regional stations and dozens of FM transmitters, broadcasting in French, Swahili, Lingala and Kikongo, and is managed by MONUSCO's public information division.
Its dual reporting role, first on the Djugu closures and separately on the Rwampara staff walkout, makes it the primary open source tracking Ituri's Ebola response even as DR Congo's own health authorities have yet to independently confirm either story's disputed figures.