Ebola response staff begin indefinite strike in Ituri
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Actualité.cd
Staff responsible for surveillance, community communication and infection prevention have suspended Ebola response activities in Nia-Nia, Ituri, to demand their allowances for August, September and October 2026. They resumed their indefinite strike on 22 October after a temporary suspension, according to Actualité.cd.
Staff responsible for surveillance, risk communication and community engagement, as well as infection prevention and control, have suspended Ebola response activities in several pillars of the Nia-Nia rural health zone, in Ituri. They are demanding payment of their allowances for August, September and October 2026, according to Actualité.cd.
The action, an outright, general and indefinite strike, began on 22 October after several approaches to the response coordination team. The staff had already suspended their action from 13 to 19 October after discussions with Africa CDC and the World Health Organisation (WHO), but resumed the strike because they had not been paid, Actualité.cd reports.
Dr Robert Tsongo, a member of the surveillance pillar and an occasional spokesperson for the strikers, said they would not return to work without a guarantee that they would be paid in full. The staff also denounced disparities between the pillars, with some having received their allowances while others remain unpaid.
The strike follows a threat to suspend the response in Ituri announced by staff on 24 October, amid the continued closure of two treatment centres in Alimbongo. The threat to suspend the response in Ituri was reported the previous day, after the announcement of the closure of two centres in Alimbongo.
