In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, an Ebola outbreak is revealing the oldest truth of catastrophe: its weight falls hardest on those already carrying the most. Women and children, displaced by nearly a million in Ituri province, are dying at rates that exceed their share of confirmed cases — a disparity born not of chance but of compounded vulnerability, where weakened bodies, collapsed health systems, and the paralyzing force of fear conspire against survival. The response is underway, but it moves through terrain already broken by conflict, reaching toward people who have learn
Ebola outbreak disproportionately devastates women, children in eastern DRC
Children represent one-third of Ebola deaths; maternal mortality has nearly doubled with approximately six women dying weekly from childbirth complications; nearly 1 million people displaced in Ituri, 80% women and children.