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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains highly vulnerable to recurrent outbreaks, particularly in its eastern provinces. This vulnerability is driven by weak health systems, insecurity, population displacement, intense cross-border mobility, and extensive mining, agricultural, and trade activities. Together, these factors create conditions that facilitate disease emergence and transmission while limiting timely detection and response. As a result, outbreaks continue to pose significant public health challenges, underscoring the need to strengthen preparedness, surveillance, and response capacities in high-risk areas. The eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu are particularly vulnerable due to their extensive cross-border interactions with Uganda and Rwanda, vibrant mining, commercial, and agricultural activities, and persistent insecurity. Major road corridors, markets, mining sites, bus stations, airports, Points of Entry (PoEs), and other densely populated locations facilitate interactions between mobile populations and host communities, increasing the risk of disease transmission and cross-border spread.
Since the declaration of the 17th Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain (BVD) outbreak in May 2026, in Ituri Province, cases have been reported in neighboring provinces, including North Kivu and South Kivu. As of 24 July 2026, North Kivu had recorded 299 confirmed cases across 11 health zones, including 188 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 62.9 percent. Based on data available as of 24 July 2026, the overall success rate for contact tracing and follow-up was 83.1 percent. Of the 4,112 registered contacts, 3,418 (83.1 percent) were successfully reached and followed up, while 694 (16.9 percent) were not reached. The city of Beni serves as an important crossroads connecting Ituri, North Kivu, the southern part of the DRC and neighboring countries through the Kasindi–Beni, Bunia–Komanda–Eringeti–Beni and Beni–Butembo–Goma corridors, as well as air links through Mavivi Airport. This increases the risk of cross-border transmission of the Bundibugyo virus outbreak.
The PMM exercise conducted from 09 to 11 June 2026 in Beni helped identify spaces of vulnerability, mobility dynamics and to identify priority interventions including the establishment of points of control (PoC) to interrupt the chain of transmission within and outside the city of Beni
