Children in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are once again facing a deadly Ebola outbreak.
Health authorities reported over 3,000 confirmed Ebola cases and over 1,000 deaths. The numbers are rapidly increasing and the true number is likely to be even higher than those officially recorded given ongoing challenges with tracing and testing.
This outbreak is spreading through communities in the DRC where families are already facing conflict and displacement and healthcare is severely limited, making it harder to trace contacts and contain transmission.
Children are not only at risk of infection, but a multitude of knock-on effects– family separation, psychological distress, being cut off from routine healthcare and protection services, dropping out of school, child labour and early marriage.
There is currently no specific vaccine or treatment available for this Ebola strain, increasing the urgency of rapid contact tracing and prevention tactics.
Basic, lifesaving supplies—like protective equipment, disinfectant, and safe isolation spaces—are concerningly scarce in some areas. At the same time fear and misinformation risk accelerating the spread further.
Children Helping Hands is working alongside health authorities and local partner NGOs in the DRC and Uganda, rapidly mobilising to protect children and their families.
Donate now to our Children’s Emergency Fund, to help stop this outbreak, protect children, and save lives—before it spreads further. Children here cannot afford another crisis.
Our Response
We're working alongside health authorities and local partner NGOs in the DRC, rapidly mobilising to protect children and families by:
- Supporting safe and functioning health facilities with PPE, infection control, and training up staff.
- Providing lifesaving information and hygiene kits to communities to stop transmission.
- Protecting children through child protection services, psychosocial support, and family tracing.
- Keeping children safe and learning through safe schools or alternative education and training up teachers on prevention and reporting.
We’ve already allocated $3.1 million from our Children’s Emergency Fund to kickstart our response in the DRC while continuing to meet existing humanitarian needs. We’ve also allocated $125,000 for our teams in Uganda, and $870,000 for preparedness activities in neighbouring countries. But we must urgently scale up.
Time is critical. We’re already in a game of catch up. Every delay increases the risk of further spread, more deaths, and greater long-term impact on children.
With your support, we can scale up interventions in the worst-impacted areas and be prepared to adapt quickly as the situation evolves.