Congo

At least 78 people dead after boat capsizes in eastern Congo, official says

2:03am October 04, 2024

The governor of the South Kivu province said the death toll was provisional and the number of fatalities could rise further. He said there were 278 people on board, according to local authorities.

National

Dikembe Mutombo, a Hall of Fame player and tireless advocate, dies at 58

3:16am October 01, 2024

Mutombo spent his retirement on humanitarian causes. He spoke nine languages and founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, concentrating on improving the quality of life for people in the Congo.

Congo says at least 129 people died during an attempted jailbreak

5:25am September 03, 2024

A provisional assessment showed that 24 inmates were shot dead by “warning” gunshots as they tried to escape from the overcrowded Makala Central Prison in Kinshasa early Monday, the government said.

A woman looks for her name at a voting station in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.

World News

Voting for president in Congo begins as fears persist over safety, credible election

3:20am December 20, 2023

by The Associated Press

Some 44 million people — almost half the population — were expected to vote, but many, including several million displaced by conflict in the vast country's east, could struggle to cast their ballots.

Two people are seen silhouetted against a night sky turned red by the eruption of Congo's Mount Nyiragongo on Saturday.

World News

Congo's Mount Nyiragongo Volcano Erupts, Sending Lava For Miles But Sparing A City

11:58am May 23, 2021

by Kat Lonsdorf

The volcano, which had not erupted in nearly two decades, caused thousands to flee, many across the border to Rwanda. But the lava didn't appear to be flowing toward Goma, a city of nearly 2 million.

The Democratic Republic of Congo saw the end of its second-worst Ebola outbreak in June. More than 2,000 people died in that outbreak. Burial workers, seen above in 2019, follow safe burial practices to mitigate the spread of the virus.

2nd Person Dies Of Ebola In Congo, Marking Virus's Return

8:12am February 11, 2021

by Jaclyn Diaz

The Democratic Republic of Congo beat its second-worst outbreak of the Ebola virus in June. The new victims indicate the disease's resurgence in the area.

Claude Mabowa, pictured in 2019, is an Ebola survivor from Congo who lost family members to the virus.

Ebola Never Went Away. But Now There's A Drug To Treat It

5:02pm October 20, 2020

by Jason Beaubien

Regeneron — the pharmaceutical company developing COVID-19 treatments — has received FDA approval for the first drug aimed at another infectious disease that's been in the headlines.

United Nations peacekeepers stand next to a patient during a visit of the U.N. secretary-general at an Ebola treatment center in Mangina, North Kivu province, last September.

What Will It Take To Finally End Congo's Ebola Outbreak In 2020?

11:21am January 09, 2020

by Nurith Aizenman

As the world's second-worst Ebola outbreak in history drags into a new year, experts think the solution is less about medicine, and more about security.

Dr. Marie-Roseline Bélizaire is a field coordinator for health workers who are part of the anti-Ebola effort in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is an epidemiologist with the World Health Organization.

This Is What It's Like To Be An Ebola Doctor Under Fire In Congo

5:58pm December 07, 2019

by Nurith Aizenman

Dr. Marie-Roseline Bélizaire says the United Nations is failing to keep its medical workers safe.

After Deadly Attacks On Ebola Responders, WHO Watches Congo Outbreak From Outside

5:10am November 29, 2019

by Steve Inskeep

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Dr. Margaret Harris, a World Health Organization spokesperson in the Democratic Republic of Congo, about attacks in the country against health workers combating Ebola.