Oxfam says a lack of access to clean water hampers efforts to contain the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The organisation, in a statement issued on Monday, lamented that the true scale of the Ebola outbreak was underestimated.

“Only one in five health facilities in Ituri, one of the epicentres of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has access to enough clean water,” Oxfam stated, citing recent field data. “The findings raise urgent concerns about the spread of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus —access to clean water remains the first line of defence against transmission— raising fears that the true scale of the outbreak is underestimated.”

The organisation noted its new field data showed that only 20 per cent of people in Mongbwalo, a town of nearly 140,000 people and one of the outbreak’s epicentres in Ituri province, had access to clean water, while just 25 per cent had access to functional sanitation and hygiene infrastructure.

According to Oxfam, the findings highlighted a wider crisis across the Ituri province characterised by contaminated water sources, collapsed handwashing infrastructure, and healthcare centres struggling to safely dispose of infectious waste, while many frontline workers still lack basic protective equipment.

“These conditions are hampering efforts to contain the spread of the virus,” it stated.

Oxfam’s field response coordinator, Manel Rebordosa, who is based in the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC, lamented the lack of access to clean water in the area, noting miners working in surrounding areas struggled with a lack of toilets and handwashing stations.

“Water —the absolute first line of defence in any public health emergency— is simply not available. Miners working in the surrounding areas have no toilets and handwashing stations, and then they return home to communities already battling the virus. Clean water costs two dollars for 20 litres. For most families here, that is far beyond what they can afford,” Mr Rebordosa explained.

The organisation explained that while the DRC health ministry had reported 781 confirmed cases and 182 deaths across 25 health zones, warning the real toll was likely far higher.

“Unlike the 2018 outbreak, there is no licensed vaccine or approved therapeutic for the Bundibugyo strain, making clean water and sanitation a critical component of the fight against this virus. Contact tracing, the backbone of any Ebola response, has fallen to just 43 per cent coverage. This sits far below the 79 per cent recorded one month into the 2018-2020 outbreak in the same region,” Oxfam said.

The organisation further stated that the shortage of medical personnel, conflict, and the slashing of global humanitarian funding for the DRC from $2.58 billion in 2024 to $1.4 billion in 2026 had made it difficult for the health authorities to identify new infections quickly enough to interrupt transmission.

Oxfam noted it had scaled up its response to the Ebola outbreak, mounting an initial $11.6 million, six-month intervention to provide clean water and hygiene kits to 200,000 people in Ituri province and support community-led awareness efforts.