Pope Calls for International Aid as Ebola Spreads in Congo

Pope Leo XIV called on the international community on Sunday to help the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is facing a widespread Ebola epidemic that has already claimed more than 2,500 lives, according to available data.

The epidemic has spread rapidly across a vast area of the central African country, and UN officials are warning of record numbers of infections and deaths.

During the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, the Pope said he was keeping the people of Congo in his prayers. He also called on the international community to involve local communities in preventive measures to help save as many lives as possible.

This is now the 17th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By the end of July, based on the number of confirmed cases, it had become the largest in the country's history, surpassing even the 2018–2020 outbreak.

(Reuters, sab)