The Ebola Crisis Is a Mirror — And the Reflection Should Trouble Us All

The Ebola outbreak in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is more than a public health emergency - it is a test of who we are and what we stand for as an international community.  

Already the third largest outbreak on record, just weeks after being declared on 15 May, it holds up a mirror to a world that has chosen to cut funding, close clinics, and withdraw the principled, sustained aid that the most vulnerable depend on.  

In an interconnected world, an uncontained outbreak in one of Africa’s most porous border regions poses a threat to the entire region - and beyond. 

With over 635 lab-confirmed cases and 127 deaths in DRC alone- and with actual numbers likely higher due to delayed detection - the scale is stark. Over 100,000 people in the epicentre lack the basic conditions needed to stop Ebola transmission. With only one in five people able to access clean water, the risks of other diseases of epidemic potential, including cholera, remain critically high. 

Among very few organisations, Oxfam is showing up - not from a distance but embedded in the communities at the epicentre of the crisis. With experience responding to Ebola spanning more than a decade, we know that the medical response alone is not enough.  

In Eastern DRC, trust in institutions has been eroded by years of conflict and chronic underinvestment. People see the world responding to Ebola, but not to the insecurity surrounding them every day. Many distrust the authorities and reject the measures imposed to contain the disease. What is often labelled as resistance is a reflection of insufficient or ineffective community engagement, and a response to interventions that are not aligned with local realities and concerns. Oxfam recognises this gap and implements responses with communities, for communities. 

That means working directly with the people and structures communities already trust: 

• Community and religious leaders, traditional healers, midwives and birth attendants — engaging the trusted voices who shape health-seeking behaviour where formal systems cannot reach. 
• Women’s rights, disability-led organisations and youth groups — ensuring the response reaches those most at risk and least heard. 
• Real-time community perception tracking — monitoring rumours and misinformation as they circulate, so the response adapts to what communities are thinking and fearing. 
• Community cash grants — giving local groups direct control over how their community responds, rather than having decisions made for them. 
• Water, sanitation and hygiene — providing water, improving access to latrines and bathing spaces in health care facilities, distributing protective equipment and hygiene items where they are most needed. 

Oxfam has continued presence – despite aid cuts - in what was already one of the most complex humanitarian contexts before this latest Ebola outbreak. This means that we are recognised as a trusted actor by opposing parties of conflict and communities alike, building understanding and advocating for respect of international humanitarian law. 

This is what separates a response that contains an outbreak from one that doesn’t. It is not just resources and logistics, but legitimacy and trust - the kind that can only be built over time, through presence, listening and respect.  

This approach makes a difference, but it cannot be sustained without international solidarity and funding which are starkly missing at this critical moment. 

The test we face and the reflection in this mirror is not just about the spread of Ebola. It is about the kind of world we are choosing to build. Abandoning the most vulnerable does not only define who we are, it determines how well we can face the risks that threaten all of us together. As Desmond Tutu reminded us: “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” 

Our world is only as resilient as its most vulnerable parts.