❤️ Health · Associated Press
Health workers at the epicenter of Congo’s Ebola outbreak labor with little pay or rest - AP News
From Associated Press via USVI News: Health workers inside the epicenter of Congo's outbreak say they are working with little pay or rest. The mining town of Mongbwalu attracts a huge number of laborers for large gold mines who live in crowded mining camps. That makes the transmission of the dise.
Health workers at the epicenter of Congo’s Ebola outbreak labor with little pay or rest
Richard Lokudu, center, the medical director of Mongbwalu General Hospital, speaks with UN peacekeepers in Mongbwalu, Congo, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A health worker disinfects an ambulance at the Mongbwalu treatment center that transported a suspected Ebola patient in Mongbwalu, Congo, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Health workers prepare for duty at the Mongbwalu treatment center in Mongbwalu, Congo, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Asero Jeanne, a mother of five who lost two of her children to Ebola, was discharged from the hospital after testing negative in Mongbwalu, Congo, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
MONGBWALU, Congo (AP) — Dr. Richard Lokudu, the medical director of Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital, has received barely any compensation for his work on the front line of one of Congo’s deadliest Ebola virus outbreaks.
Lokudu and several of his colleagues work all day at the hospital treating an influx of patients. Notifications of suspected cases come even late at night.
“I have not received my allowance (and) what happened to others could happen to me as well,” Lokudu told The Associated Press. “Despite all the infection prevention and control measures we are implementing, we do not know what may happen.”
Health authorities believe the outbreak, which took the eastern region of Congo by surprise after spreading silently for weeks without detection, started in the bustling mining area of Mongbwalu in Ituri province.
Mining conditions conducive to virus spread
Mongbwalu has emerged as the epicenter of the rare Bundibugyo type. The town attracts large numbers of laborers who work in large gold mines with muddy pools of gold deposits, narrow pits and caves. They live in low-income areas including crowded camps and have little access to proper health protocols.
The conditions increase the possibility of transmitting the disease, which spreads through close contact with bodily fluids of the sick and deceased such as sweat, blood, feces and vomit.
There also has been widespread skepticism regarding the disease, making the job of medical treatment more difficult for Lokudu and his colleagues, while some of the health workers and first responders have died from the disease.
“It is one thing to be far away and hear statistics being reported, but what is happening on the ground is enormous,” Lokudu said. “People are sacrificing their rest and comfort for this cause. There should be recognition that they deserve compensation. These workers should receive their salaries regularly.”
The Congolese government didn’t respond to a request for comment from the AP.
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