In Bunia, Ebola Is Outpacing the Response

Bunia, a bustling city in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has become the center of an Ebola outbreak that has prompted global alarm even as a local response is only now being assembled. Outside the main hospital, workers are hammering nails and raising tents for a few isolation wards where patients can be triaged, isolated and treated.

"The virus is far ahead of us," said Ahmed Mahat, a manager with International Medical Corps. "And it’s spreading fast." Officials say the outbreak was discovered late; the first patient was confirmed on May 15. When aid workers checked local stocks they found "Zero," recalled Macky Mbavugha of the International Rescue Committee.

Mr. Mbavugha said President Trump’s aid cuts exacerbated the crisis and that if American funding had not been slashed last year "maybe the alert would have sounded earlier." Many local organizations had already closed after funding dried up.

Democratic Republic of Congo, Bunia

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