Health workers protest unpaid wages at Congo Ebola epicentre

Dozens of health workers working at the epicentre of Congo’s Ebola outbreak staged protests on Thursday to demand payment for their wages, abandoning several health facilities even as aid workers warn that the world’s fastest-growing outbreak of the disease is spreading at an alarming rate.

The health workers are protesting at the governor’s office in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90 per cent of the Ebola cases in the country. They are the latest group to walk off their jobs since protests over pay issues began weeks ago.

The health workers, including nurses providing critical care to Ebola patients, said they haven’t received wages and bonuses for their work fighting Ebola since the outbreak was declared in mid-May. “With this way of managing things, Ebola will not end in this province. We ask the authorities to get involved at all levels so that a solution is found quickly,” said Edouige Makosi, one of the protesters.