During the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), clinical breakthroughs with the potential to significantly reduce both the death toll and the duration of the outbreak were made. However, as our guests argued in research conducted for the Congo Research Group in 2020, the international response was organized through parallel health structures rather than the existing DRC health system. This approach contributed to undermined trust, outbreaks of violence and ultimately prolonged the outbreak.
Now, in 2026, similar questions are emerging about the measures being taken at the local, national, regional and international levels to contain what has become the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record two months after it was officially declared.
In this episode, Dr Rachel Niehuus and Bienvenu Mukungilwa join the Africa Programme’s Dr Joshua Z. Walker and Lisa Musumba to explore how the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC once again exposes tensions between ad hoc international health responses and local healthcare systems – reinforcing the urgent need to strengthen national healthcare systems in the DRC and across Africa for more effective outbreak preparedness and response.
About Africa Aware
Africa Aware is a podcast from the Chatham House Africa Programme bringing together leading international experts to provide in-depth analysis and sharp insights on the political, economic and social issues shaping African countries, their international relations and the continent as a whole.
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