The shipment, transported aboard a Tunisian military aircraft to Kinshasa International Airport, was sent on the instructions of Tunisian President Kais Saied and coordinated by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Health and Social Affairs, alongside the Tunisian Red Crescent and the Tunisian Union for Social Solidarity. The aid includes medicines, medical supplies and paramedical equipment intended to support health facilities and authorities working to contain the epidemic.
The Tunisian Embassy in Kinshasa will oversee the handover of the aid to the relevant Congolese authorities. The initiative, which follows the African Union's appeal to member states, reflects Tunisia's commitment to strengthening solidarity and cooperation with other African countries.
A Worsening Ebola Outbreak
The aid arrives as the DRC faces the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the country. The World Health Organization reported that as of Sunday, the country had recorded 7,733 confirmed cases, including 3,732 deaths. The outbreak has now spread to seven provinces, with South Ubangi becoming the latest affected province.
While transmission has shown signs of slowing in Ituri province, the original epicentre, the outbreak has not shrunk nationally. North Kivu now accounts for nearly half of all newly confirmed cases, with test positivity rates rising sharply in recent days. Médecins Sans Frontières has warned that assuming the outbreak is under control would be a mistake, noting that "the outbreak is not shrinking — it is moving."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in mid-September that while there were encouraging signs of progress, the epidemic "continues to grow, and continues to kill," with more than 300 new cases and 160 deaths reported from Ituri in a single week. He noted that the response faces "an extraordinarily difficult" operating environment, with barely passable roads, insecurity and attacks on aid workers.
The African Union's Call for Solidarity
The African Union's appeal for member states to support the DRC reflects a broader push for continental solidarity in health emergencies. The initiative follows previous pledges of support from other African nations, including medical experts and supplies deployed to assist the Congolese government's response.
MSF has emphasised that its teams alone cannot contain an outbreak of this scale, calling for stronger operational support from UN agencies, including WHO, to reinforce surveillance, laboratory capacity, infection prevention measures and community-based response efforts — particularly in areas beyond the main hubs where response capacities are concentrated.
With reporting from Xinhua, Agence Tunis Afrique Presse, WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières and other continental sources.
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