A six-year-old child with Ebola has disappeared from a treatment centre in the Democratic Republic of Congo after an armed raid, triggering fears of a fresh outbreak and placing British aid workers on high alert. The attack, which occurred at a hospital in Beni, North Kivu province, saw gunmen overpower security guards and seize the young patient, whose identity has not been released. The kidnap comes as the region battles its second deadliest Ebola epidemic, which has already claimed over 2,000 lives since August 2018.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the humanitarian community, with UK-funded organisations scaling back operations and imposing lockdowns on expatriate staff. One British aid worker, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the atmosphere as “tense and dangerous”. He said: “We are used to threats, but taking a child with Ebola is a new low. It shows a complete disregard for human life and public health.”
The child was receiving treatment at a centre run by the International Rescue Committee, a UK government partner. The raid occurred late on Monday night, with the assailants firing shots into the air before breaking into the isolation ward. They reportedly took the child, who was in a critical condition, and a bag of infected clothing. Local police have launched a search, but the militants are believed to be from a Mai-Mai militia group active in the region.
The World Health Organization has warned that the patient’s disappearance could spark a new wave of infections. Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme, said: “This is a catastrophic breach of trust. The infected child could now be a vector for the disease in a community that is already deeply suspicious of outsiders.”
For UK workers on the ground, the kidnapping has put the already fraught mission into sharp focus. Britain has pledged £100 million to the Ebola response and deployed scores of Public Health England specialists. But the security situation has deteriorated sharply since last month, when armed men killed a health worker in another attack. Many aid agencies have now withdrawn international staff to the safety of a UN base in Goma, leaving local doctors and nurses to run the clinics. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are monitoring the situation closely and are in contact with the Congolese authorities. The safety of British nationals is our top priority.”
The family of the missing child has not been located, and officials fear they may have been coerced into taking the child home. Traditional burial practices, which involve washing the body, have been a major factor in the spread of Ebola. The region has seen dozens of attacks on health centres, often fuelled by conspiracy theories that the outbreak is a hoax or a foreign plot. One nurse, who asked not to be named, said: “People think we are selling organs or poisoning them. It is exhausting. We are trying to save lives, and this is how they repay us.”
The implications for the wider response are grim. The UK had been leading diplomatic efforts to contain the outbreak, but the attack may force a reassessment. Labour MP and chair of the International Development Committee, Ian Patey, said: “This is a horrifying development. The government must now review its security protocols and ensure that UK aid workers are not put in unnecessary danger. We cannot abandon the people of DR Congo, but nor can we send our citizens into a war zone.”
For now, the search continues. But with each passing hour, the risk grows that this child will become another tragic statistic, a symbol of a crisis that overwhelms borders and defies easy solutions.
