Speaking at the opening of the facility in Ituri province, Tedros said four patients would be discharged on Sunday, while another had left care two days earlier, highlighting signs of progress in combating the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rare variant for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment currently exists.

“Of course, we’re still working on vaccines and treatments but that doesn’t mean that people cannot recover from Ebola,” Tedros said.

The announcement follows confirmation by the WHO on Friday of the first documented recovery of a patient infected with the Bundibugyo virus during the current outbreak, a development health officials hope will encourage infected individuals to seek medical attention sooner.

According to the latest official figures released by the WHO, the outbreak has generated 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths in Congo. The disease has also crossed borders, with neighboring Uganda reporting nine confirmed cases and one death, according to the Ugandan Health Ministry.

Despite the opening of new facilities and the arrival of additional international assistance, humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, warned on Saturday that the virus continues to outpace containment efforts. The group called for expanded testing capacity, faster deployment of health personnel and uninterrupted access for medical supplies.

Health authorities have faced growing operational challenges as some local communities resist strict disease-control measures, particularly protocols governing the handling and burial of Ebola victims. Officials say at least three attacks have been carried out against health centers during the outbreak.

Tedros emphasized the importance of community cooperation, urging residents to seek treatment immediately after symptoms appear and to participate actively in containment efforts.

“If you come to health facilities when you have symptoms, you can get the support and recover,” he said, adding that early intervention remains critical to improving survival rates.

Security concerns have further complicated the response. In Ituri, attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces, an armed group linked to Daesh, along with violence involving ethnic militias, have limited access to some affected communities and disrupted medical operations.

The outbreak has also been reported in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels control several strategic urban centers, including Goma and Bukavu. The rebel movement has reported two Ebola cases in areas under its control.

Congolese health officials sought to reassure residents that the outbreak can be contained. Pierre Akilimali, incident manager at the National Institute of Public Health, said symptomatic treatment was producing encouraging results and helping patients recover.

Medical staff at the new treatment center echoed that assessment. Davin Ambitapio, a physician involved in the response, said healthcare workers remained optimistic that coordinated efforts by national authorities and international partners would eventually bring the outbreak under control.

The Bundibugyo strain was first identified in Uganda in 2007 and is one of several known Ebola virus species capable of causing severe hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in humans.

In a report released Tuesday, the medical charity, also known as Doctors Without Borders or MSF, said armed actors and authorities were obstructing humanitarian access to contested regions and opposition-held territories despite severe civilian needs in the country.
MSF said the South Sudanese government had blocked the organization from accessing Akobo town in Jonglei state, an area affected by recent fighting where the group supports one of the region’s few functioning hospitals.

The organization also documented attacks on MSF facilities between January 2025 and April 2026, estimating that approximately 762,000 people lost access to healthcare services as a result of the violence and operational disruptions.

South Sudan has remained unstable since gaining independence in 2011, descending into civil war marked by ethnic violence, political rivalry and widespread humanitarian crises. Fighting has intensified again over the past 18 months between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and armed groups aligned with his longtime rival Riek Machar.

According to conflict monitoring organization Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, violence has been reported in 73 of South Sudan’s 79 counties.
MSF said all parties involved in the conflict appeared to be using humanitarian access and aid operations to pursue military and political goals, a trend the organization described as deeply concerning given the country’s worsening humanitarian conditions.

The warning comes as international aid agencies face growing funding constraints and donor fatigue, prompting some organizations to scale back operations in South Sudan.

Senior US State Department official Nick Checker recently accused the South Sudanese government of making “insincere promises of reform” to secure international funding while obstructing lifesaving humanitarian assistance.

The United States Embassy in South Sudan said in April that the humanitarian crisis continued to deteriorate despite billions of dollars in oil revenue and foreign aid flowing into the country.

The United Nations estimates that nearly two-thirds of South Sudan’s population faces acute hunger, with insecurity, displacement and economic collapse compounding one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies.