Document Type

Article

Journal Title

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Publication Date

2026

Volume

20

Abstract

A Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) has been declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to Ebola disease from Bundibugyo virus. Non-health-focused factors should be fundamental to how DRC and its partners respond to and recover from the current emergency. Filovirus emergencies are violent in every sense-the disease experience of patients and their caregivers, the tumult in impacted communities, sometimes the physical manifestations of frustration against healthcare services, the fits and starts of concerted response, and the milieu of conflict in which this emergency occurred. Yet, interpersonal and organized violence may contribute to frequency of health emergencies and delays in responding to them. We tend to focus on immediate, direct health needs when managing risks from emerging infectious diseases. Sustained success, though, requires concomitant action on both health and non-health aspects of emergencies and the contexts in which they arise.

MeSH Headings

Humans, Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Violence, Public Health

ISSN

1935-2735

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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