Congo village chief fights Ebola stigma after losing four relatives

Alphonse bin Kitobi Achou Taibo has lost four family members to Ebola in the village of Bapakombe-Bakondo, a community on the outskirts of Beni in eastern Congo’s North Kivu province. As the chief of the village, he has spent the recent months trying to move his kin to medical care against their will. Many relatives believed he was taking them to die because of deep-seated local mistrust of the disease.

The outbreak, declared in May, is caused by the Bundibugyo virus. Health officials note that there is no approved vaccine or treatment for this specific strain. According to data from Congo’s Ministry of Health, the outbreak surpassed 10,000 confirmed cases this week. More than 4,800 people have died. The disease has spread to four other African countries, including Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Achou Taibo told The Associated Press that he realized the family was in danger of losing everyone. Eleven other members of his extended family contracted the virus but survived after he insisted on hospitalization. He identified the prevailing mistrust as his biggest enemy. In this region, many people compare Ebola to poison. Some local pastors associate the disease with evil spirits, a belief that complicates efforts to get sick residents into treatment centers.

Traditional medicine clinics in the area have sometimes misdiagnosed Ebola as poisoning. When one of Achou Taibo’s cousins died in August, a clinic blamed poison for the death. Another cousin, 27-year-old Zawadi Kavira Musubao, fell ill during the funeral. The clinic again cited poisoning. A traditional healer gave her a potion to expel the poison, which worsened her condition before she eventually recovered.

The stigma extends to survivors. Musubao, who lost a sister to Ebola, said her landlord forced her family out of their home after health workers disinfected the property. The landlord claimed the disinfection process brought evil spirits into the house. The family moved in with another sister. Musubao, who has no job since falling ill, hopes to save enough money to start selling tomatoes and small fish.

Violence fueled by fear has further hampered the response. Young people in the neighborhood have set fire to homes, accusing residents of witchcraft. Achou Taibo said this mentality of misinformation was dominant in the community. The violence has also affected health workers. Last Saturday, a nurse was killed and another worker was injured while responding to an Ebola alert in the town of Bafwasende, located in Tshopo province.

The World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, Mohamed Yakub Janabi, condemned the attack. He stated that misinformation and fear must never fuel violence. Insecurity in eastern Congo, where dozens of rebel and militia groups operate, has displaced many residents and restricted access for health teams. The Allied Democratic Forces, linked to the Islamic State group, is among the active groups in the region.

Government data from early October indicated that more than 70% of new cases were outside known contact lists. At least 60% of deaths occurred outside treatment centers. This suggests that many people are dying before they can be traced or treated. Front-line workers have also protested over unpaid wages and dangerous working conditions.

Africa CDC Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya addressed African health ministers in a virtual summit on Wednesday. He told the ministers that the continent is not winning the fight against Ebola. He said he felt hope because no minister looked away. The group agreed to prepare every country, coordinate across borders, and keep those borders open while monitoring them closely.

Achou Taibo continues to focus on getting people tested and admitted to treatment centers whenever symptoms appear. He sends food and shares money to support those with less. He has had to speak about Ebola to large, hostile groups. He said he must speak fearlessly to tell the truth to the people he leads.