More pregnant women are dying in Congo as they avoid hospitals over
Ebola
[August 03, 2026]
By JUSTIN KABUMBA and CHINEDU ASADU
BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Esther Lutula stopped going for prenatal checkups
shortly after the current Ebola outbreak was declared in eastern Congo.
Midway into her pregnancy, the 26-year-old feared being put into
isolation simply for having a fever, a common misconception.
“That’s why I’m waiting until the disease is no longer widespread,” she
told The Associated Press from her home in Bunia, the capital of Ituri
province and epicenter of the outbreak declared on May 15.
But that could be a deadly mistake.
Maternal mortality across Ituri soon doubled as news of the outbreak
spread, with an average of about six women dying per week due to
childbirth complication, according to Noemi Dalmonte, deputy country
representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Congo.
While there was an average of 3.1 maternal deaths weekly this year
before the outbreak, that jumped to 5.8 deaths from May 25 to July 19.
Among those, the deaths outside health centers have also jumped from
9.1% to 17.4% within the same period, UNFPA data shows.
As Congo battles the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, with more
than 1,600 confirmed deaths, health and aid workers are warning of a
shadow crisis as pregnant women avoid hospitals and the country's
already high maternal mortality rate climbs even more.
While it’s common for Africans to avoid health centers during public
health emergencies because of safety concerns, “with Ebola, it is
stronger because Ebola has a lot of rumors," Dalmonte said in an
interview.
With some wary residents questioning whether Ebola even exists, and
health workers in one of Congo’s most remote and volatile regions
struggling to respond to the outbreak with few supplies, pregnant women
have less care than ever.
Congo is one of the world's most dangerous places to give birth
Congo's has among the world's highest rates of both childbirths per
woman and deaths around childbirth.
Women in the vast central African nation have almost six children on
average. At least 19,000 women died from pregnancy complications in
Congo in 2023, according to the latest U.N. data, tied with India and
second only to Nigeria globally.
Now health workers in Ituri say they are seeing a decline in hospital
visits as people worry about the risk of infection. This type of Ebola
has no approved treatment or vaccine.
Women in need of care also fear being caught up in violence. Ebola
treatment centers have been attacked by residents fueled by
misinformation or anger over strict outbreak measures.
At the Bénédicte Clinic in Bunia, the number of women registered for
prenatal care has dropped from 60 each month to around 10, said Dr.
Sonny Mwembo, the medical director.
Even now, weeks into efforts to battle misinformation, some residents
hold mistaken views of the outbreak.
“Right now, if you feel sick and go to the hospital, they say it’s Ebola
and they put you in quarantine right away. That’s what scares people,”
said Elodie Yabiri, a Bunia resident who is heavily pregnant.
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Esther Lutula, a 26 year-old woman who is four months pregnant and a
mother of four, who stopped going for prenatal checkups shortly
after the current Ebola outbreak, stands outside her house in Bunia,
northeastern, Congo, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses
Sawasawa)
 Yabiri said she’s avoiding hospitals
as much as she can.
As long as she still feels her unborn child moving, she believes
everything is still okay.
Limited health care pivots to Ebola instead
The outbreak has strained Congo’s already overstretched healthcare
system, complicating access for the pregnant women who still come
for prenatal care or birth.
Health facilities in the five affected provinces are redirecting
staff and supplies to the response, reducing access to essential
maternal care services, according to aid groups.
At least 44 health infected workers have died. Many other health
workers have walked off their jobs, protesting the lack of payment.
At least 12 attacks have been recorded against health facilities and
teams since the outbreak was declared in mid-May.
“We are doing everything we can to make the public understand how
dangerous this disease is. We are working day and night without
being paid,” said Dr. Ghislain Maneba, an epidemiologist and
community investigator in Ituri's Rwampara health zone.
All women are at higher risk in this outbreak
Ebola is rare but highly contagious and severe, often fatal. It
spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids
such as vomit, blood or semen, and with contaminated surfaces and
materials such as bedding and clothing.
Women are usually the primary caregivers when a loved one becomes
ill. Many are among frontline health workers in this outbreak as
well.
Associated Press journalists covering the outbreak have seen
pregnant health workers among the responders.
“It is very important that they know how to protect themselves, that
they have the right information,” Dalmonte said.
Pregnant women with Ebola are at an increased risk of problems
including miscarriage, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has said in its clinical guidance.
Meanwhile, pregnant women who delay care and avoid health facilities
“could die not from Ebola itself but because the care that would
have saved them was no longer accessible, trusted or safe,” Dalmonte
said.
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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria.
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