With 491 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as of April 30, the outbreak has spread from Kinshasa into both North and South Kivu provinces in the east of the country.

One of the main concerns with a pandemic of such proportions hitting the DRC is misinformation, or lack of information. The arrival of COVID-19 in the DRC came just as the Ebola epidemic, which killed 2,200 people since 2018, was on the verge of being declared over (before more cases emerged in the country on April 10). For many Congolese, particularly those in the Ebola affected areas the timing is suspicious. It’s understandable why people are sensitive to the rumours or distrustful. The term “Ebola-business” has become commonplace now after people saw huge amounts of money and resources flowing into their region purely for the Ebola response. Yet Ebola was only one of the many emergencies, with the country also dealing with the world’s worst measles outbreak, malaria, ongoing conflict and displacement. This led to a perception amongst many people that Ebola was a business to make money while the actual urgent needs of the population were ignored.

Managing these rumours and suspicions is a major part of MSF’s COVID response through health promotion and community engagement activities throughout the Kivus.