Health workers at an Ebola treatment center in eastern Congo went on strike on Saturday, demanding their pay. The walkout disrupted care for patients in the epicenter of the country’s rapidly growing outbreak.
The number of confirmed cases of Ebola in Congo has reached 2,973, including 1,309 deaths, according to government data released on Friday in what authorities say is the fastest-growing outbreak on record.
The Elikya Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia, Ituri province, came to a standstill after doctors, nurses and security staff stopped work.
About a hundred health workers protested outside the treatment center on Saturday. They said the unpaid bonuses were undermining morale and disrupting patient care, and called on Congolese authorities to resolve the backpay so they could resume their work.
“We need to be paid, because in the meantime the disease is spreading at the treatment center,” Martin Bolombi, one of the health workers on strike said.
“I’ve already had five people die who are still inside there. A solution must be found for us,” he added.
In a statement issued Friday, staff said they had unanimously voted to strike until “concrete solutions” were found to resolve “two months of unpaid performance bonuses.”
The strike comes a day after Congo’s Prime Minister Judith Suminwa came to Ituri, touring major treatment hubs, in Rwampara and Mongbwalu, to assess the outbreak response. During her visit in Mongbwalu, she faced urgent demands from healthcare personnel protesting payment issues.
