Democratic Republic Of The Congo: Safe And Dignified Burials Help Prevent The Spread Of Ebola

(MENAFN- APO Group)

In Ituri Province, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, safe and dignified burials play a critical role in the fight against Ebola. The disease spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, and after death, certain burial practices can expose family members to the virus if appropriate protective measures are not in place. In a region where funeral rites are central to community life, protecting families while respecting traditions remains essential.

When the current outbreak began in the province, health teams were met with considerable mistrust in some communities.“In the beginning, many people did not understand why health teams needed to intervene during burials,” explains Pastor Richard Ndjaridjo. Some families hesitated to report deaths and continued to organize funerals on their own. In some cases, bodies that had already been buried were exhumed to allow relatives to carry out certain traditional rites. Teams responsible for safe and dignified burials also faced threats and attacks, complicating efforts to stop the spread of the virus. In this context, developing an approach that protected communities while respecting their beliefs and cultural practices became a priority.

To address these challenges, the Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, implemented a community engagement approach. Through the Standby Partners mechanism, Paul Benjamin Gbadia was deployed to WHO to support the Ebola response in Ituri. Faced with the difficulties encountered by safe and dignified burials teams during the early stages of the outbreak, he helped strengthen an approach that placed communities at the centre of the response. Working alongside health authorities and partners, he helped train and mentor local volunteers so they could participate directly in safe and dignified burial activities.

“We found that communities were more willing to accept safe and dignified burials when they were directly involved in the response,” he explains.“By engaging local volunteers, we were able to establish closer dialogue with families and better address their concerns.”

In Jina, in Djugu Territory, 36 community members were trained and assigned to safe and dignified burial and decontamination teams. Comprised of people known and trusted by residents, these teams support families while applying the measures needed to prevent Ebola transmission. For Paul, the goal was to make communities active participants in the response rather than passive beneficiaries.“Local volunteers speak the language, understand the customs and know the concerns of their communities. This closeness makes dialogue easier and helps build acceptance of prevention measures,” says Gbadia.

Over time, this approach helped strengthen trust between communities and health teams. Recalling a recent death in Jina, Naema Mave, a member of a safe and dignified burial team, describes how the family immediately alerted health authorities and waited for the team to arrive before proceeding with the burial.“When we arrived, no one had touched the body. A few months earlier, that might not have been the case,” she explains.

For Mave, this progress reflects the value of the training and support provided to local volunteers, enabling them to respond safely and independently within their communities.

Ndjaridjo also attributes this change to sustained community awareness efforts.“There has been a lot of sensitization. People have come to understand that bodies can transmit the disease and they now accept the intervention of safe and dignified burial teams to protect families,” he says.

Beyond training community teams, WHO has provided technical, logistical and operational support to safe and dignified burial activities. This support includes personal protective equipment, essential operational supplies, transportation to reach remote areas and ongoing field mentoring for teams.

Since the start of the response, and as of 27 September 2026, more than 11 573 alerts have been recorded, 10 357 safe and dignified burials conducted in Ituri and 9 433 laboratory samples collected and tested. Twenty safe and dignified burial teams, including 10 mobile teams and 10 community-based teams, have received operational, logistical and training support. These results highlight the importance of a trust-based approach.

“When communities participate directly in safe and dignified burial activities, they take greater ownership of prevention measures. This has helped reduce resistance and better protect families,” says Gbadia.

According to Dr Danny Byaruhanga, Medical Director of Jina, community involvement has strengthened the response.“We can say that safe and dignified burial teams have played a major role in interrupting transmission within the community. Once families accepted that burials could be carried out by trained and properly equipped personnel, it significantly reduced the risks associated with handling bodies,” he explains.

Beyond its immediate impact on preventing Ebola transmission, this approach is also helping communities build their capacity to respond to future public health emergencies. By encouraging participation and ownership of prevention activities, it promotes the adoption of protective practices and behaviours that can continue long after the current outbreak has ended.

In Ituri, experience has shown that safe and dignified burials rely as much on trust as on protective measures. When a family reports a death, accepts support from a trained team and takes part in prevention efforts, a high-risk situation can become an opportunity to protect an entire community.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa.

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