16,000 Ebola Vaccine Doses Arrive in DR Congo as Outbreak Worsens

More than 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine against Ebola arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) late on Friday, August 21, 2026, as the country faces its deadliest Ebola outbreak in history. An AFP journalist present at the scene confirmed that the plane, carrying 16,250 doses, landed at Kinshasa airport.

The DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15, but it is thought to have been spreading for several weeks before that. The outbreak has already claimed thousands of lives and has hit regions in the north and east where state presence is weak, health infrastructure is largely lacking, and numerous armed groups have operated for decades. These conditions are expected to complicate the ongoing response, which requires reaching remote communities with medical care and vaccination.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Thursday that the DRC would receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which is produced in Germany. Friday's shipment is the first batch of that allocation, with remaining doses to be delivered in subsequent shipments.

The Ervebo vaccine, developed by pharmaceutical company Merck, is approved against the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, but it is not approved against the Bundibugyo strain currently circulating in the country. WHO experts have stated they do not yet know whether Ervebo protects humans against the Bundibugyo strain; however, early data from animal trials suggest it could offer some cross-protection.

Speaking on the tarmac of Kinshasa airport after the vaccine delivery, the DRC's Minister of Health, Samuel Roger Kamba, said Ervebo had already been used several times, including on a very large scale during the 2018-2020 outbreak.

Of the 70,000 doses made available to the DRC, 20,000 are intended for a clinical trial to evaluate the vaccine's effectiveness against the Bundibugyo strain. The remaining 50,000 doses are earmarked for "frontline and health workers" in the DRC, according to the WHO.

The latest figures from the Congolese health authorities show 2,516 deaths among 5,290 confirmed cases. Julien Harneis, the UN's senior Ebola coordinator, warned on Friday that the outbreak "is growing exponentially."

This month, the WHO's vaccine experts recommended a full-scale human trial of Ervebo, the only currently approved Ebola vaccine, to determine whether it provides cross-protection against the Bundibugyo strain. The trial is expected to involve a significant number of participants and will be closely monitored by health authorities.

Meanwhile, two vaccines specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain are already in clinical trial phases. One, developed by US-based Moderna, uses mRNA technology; the other, by Britain's University of Oxford, is based on a different vaccine platform. In addition, an "rVSV Bundibugyo" vaccine, described by the WHO as "the most promising," is to be developed by Singapore-based Hilleman Laboratories.

Ebola is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and causes fever. According to WHO records, the disease has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years. The DRC, which has experienced more Ebola outbreaks than any other country since the virus was first identified in 1976, has been working with the WHO and other international agencies to contain the current epidemic.