Unpaid health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) say they may stop working as the country’s Ebola outbreak continues to grow. Nurses and other frontline staff say they have gone for months without receiving government wages. They warn that the lack of pay is making it difficult to continue risking their lives every day.

Nurse Micheline Kayimpa works at the Elikya Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia. Each day she wears protective gear before entering the isolation ward. Even simple tasks carry a high risk because Ebola spreads through bodily fluids. She says she fears becoming infected every time she treats a patient.

Kayimpa joined the Ebola response in June but says she has not received a single government paycheck. She recently joined other unpaid health workers in a protest over delayed wages. Although she has returned to work, she says she will boycott the response again if she is not paid soon.

The outbreak continues to spread across eastern DRC. The Congolese health ministry says more than 3,800 people have been infected since mid-May, while over 1,700 have died. The World Health Organization has described it as the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the country. Uganda has already declared its outbreak over, but the virus continues to spread in eastern Congo.

Aid agencies say this outbreak is harder to control because it involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. There are no approved vaccines for this strain, and treatment options remain limited. Armed conflict has also made it difficult for medical teams to reach affected communities.

Fear and misinformation continue to slow the response. Several Ebola treatment centres have come under attack during the outbreak. The United Nations says at least a dozen health facilities have been targeted by angry crowds. These attacks have forced medical teams to move patients to safety and have delayed response efforts.

The Congolese government says it is processing payments for unpaid health workers after completing administrative checks. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) says it continues to pay its own staff. The organisation stressed that unpaid health workers need timely compensation, proper protection and enough support to continue fighting the deadly outbreak.