The International Rescue Committee (IRC) today warned that the rapidly escalating Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could become the deadliest outbreak on record without urgent international action.

A new IRC Watchlist Flash Alert identifies three warning signs that this outbreak could be particularly difficult to contain: the outbreak is spreading faster than the response; conflict and displacement are accelerating the risk of regional spread; and severe global aid cuts have weakened frontline health systems and outbreak preparedness across eastern DRC.

“The warning signs are flashing red,” said Bob Kitchen, Vice President of Emergencies for the IRC. “Eastern DRC is confronting this outbreak more fragile and less prepared than during the 2018-2020 outbreak that killed more than 2,000 people- and with fewer resources to fight it. Increased conflict and cuts to global aid funding have dismantled defenses at exactly the wrong moment. The lesson from every previous outbreak is clear: delays cost lives. The risks are growing and the resources are shrinking; that is the brutal arithmetic facing global aid today.”