DRC: while all eyes are on Ebola, MSF treated 33,000 malnourished children in North Kivu

Médecins Sans Frontières issued a warning on October 26, 2026, regarding the medical emergencies pushed into the background by the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the NGO, the epidemic that has hit the eastern part of the country since May 2026 has claimed over 9,500 lives and is absorbing a large share of health resources in North Kivu, an already bled-dry province.

The problem is not the response itself, but what it leaves deprived of resources. Between January and August 2026, more than 33,000 children were treated for malnutrition in just five MSF-supported facilities in North Kivu. Fighting between Congolese forces, the AFC/M23, and their allies has displaced millions of families there: according to the UN, over 80% of the country's displaced people are in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri. Based on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, more than 26 million Congolese are facing food crisis or emergency conditions, including nearly 4 million in this province alone.

Malnutrition makes Ebola more deadly

The NGO stresses a chain reaction that is rarely explained: a malnourished child has weakened defenses, making them more vulnerable to malaria, measles, and Ebola itself. Neglecting malnutrition amounts to fueling the very epidemic authorities are trying to extinguish.

Malaria illustrates the exact same trap. As the leading cause of illness in the DRC according to MSF, it led the organization to treat more than 255,000 uncomplicated cases and over 26,000 severe cases in North Kivu in 2025. Yet its initial symptoms resemble those of Ebola: uncertainty delays proper treatment. MSF further warns that the province risks being excluded from upcoming Global Fund grants.

In Popokabaka, cholera kills within hours

In Kwango province, at the other end of the country, the cholera outbreak in Popokabaka had reached 345 suspected cases and 21 deaths by July 22, 2026. A patient can die within hours without rapid rehydration, even though treatment is simple and inexpensive. MSF is supporting the hospital and a treatment center there, has opened four units in health areas, over 30 oral rehydration points, and 36 water chlorination points, and reports having treated 450 patients. Its assessment is straightforward: 61% of the population has access to less than 15 liters of safe drinking water per person per day.

MSF's message is not to divert resources away from Ebola, but to reject the trade-off. African Health Ministers are expected to gather on October 28, 2026, at the invitation of Africa CDC to discuss response funding: the diseases relegated by the emergency will also have a case to make there.