When sport, crisis overlap: DRC's World Cup rise amid Ebola upsurge

Healthcare workers disinfect a stretcher after transporting a patient suffering from the Ebola virus disease in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the DRC on June 23, 2026, with the original FIFA World Cup trophy on the side. [Courtesy]

Thousands of kilometres separate Ebola isolation wards in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from the World Cup stadiums in the US, yet both are shaping the country’s global story.

In Ituri, health workers are racing against time to trace Ebola contacts, contain a worsening outbreak and care for families displaced by decades of conflict.