Deaths are mounting in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, and a Nashville-based nonprofit is mobilising faith communities, animation, and local language messaging to save lives before fear and misinformation claim more victims than the virus itself.

At the same time, the executive committee of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches which met in early June has acknowledged the role of churches in the DRC's health emergency following the Ebola outbreak, particularly in conflict-affected areas.

The governing body called for urgent humanitarian access to Goma airport that serves the affected area in the DRC.

"This outbreak is unfolding in communities already burdened by conflict, displacement, weak health systems, and deep social mistrust," read the WCC statement.

"The executive committee urges all relevant authorities and actors to ensure that Ebola containment be treated as an immediate political priority at national and regional levels in line with WHO guidance.

The WCC also said that the ceasefire commitments under the Washington Accords should be fully implemented, since renewed violence and insecurity in affected areas will gravely undermine outbreak control, humanitarian access, and the protection of vulnerable communities."

When Ebola afflicts a community, the disease itself is not always the first killer.

Fear, mistrust, and misinformation are often just as deadly, goading people to avoid health workers, continue dangerous traditional burial practices that spread infection, and attack the teams sent to help them.

That is the reality facing the DRC and Uganda today, according to the US organisation Harper Hill Global.

Since early May 2026, the DRC and Uganda, as neighbors, have been fighting an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a particularly dangerous variant for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

By late June, the DRC had recorded more than 1,000 confirmed cases and at least 254 confirmed deaths, making this the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record.

The World Health Organization declared the Ebola strain a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17 May.

Uganda has also confirmed cases, all linked to travel from the DRC.

Confronting a new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, Harper Hill Global says it is working with partners in the Congo and Uganda to mobilise a powerful weapon: educational resources to prevent the spread of the disease.

While no vaccine is available yet for the current Bundibugyo strain, education can play a role.

"Education is the only vaccine we have," said the Rev. Neelley Hicks, founder and executive director of the nonprofit agency.

The Rev. Betty Kazadi Musau, director of communications for The United Methodist Church's North Katanga Conference, emphasizes the African concept of ubuntu, which recognizes that each person's well-being is connected with that of their neighbor.

"Ubuntu via education will be a vaccine," she said in a conversation with Hicks and animator Firdaus Kharas, founder of Chocolate Moose Media.

Harper Hill Global and its partners are providing an animated video and messages that emphasize handwashing and hygiene, as well as safe practices for interacting with others.

          - SENSITIVE BURIAL PRACTICES

The resources address culturally sensitive burial practices, recognizing the importance of honoring the dead while avoiding physical contact with the body of a loved one who has died from Ebola.

Haarper Hill notes that the Bundibugyo Ebola strain is distinct from the more familiar Zaire strain responsible for previous large outbreaks, including the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic.

The vaccine licensed in most countries (ERVEBO®) was developed for the Zaire strain and is not expected to protect against Bundibugyo virus.

Rev. Neelley Hicks, head of Harper Hill Global, a Nashville, Tennessee-based nonprofit is playing a leading role.

Reports of attacks on health workers and burial teams have reinforced what she already knew: without education and community trust, medical interventions alone cannot stop the disease.

Hicks developed SMS text-messaging networks and provided training and strategy for using radio to disseminate messages.

"Without understanding it, people die," Hicks said.

Hicks had previously worked with Kharas during the 2014-2015 West Africa Ebola outbreak, through United Methodist Communications.

This time, Kharas's team at Chocolate Moose Media, a Canadian media production company working with Artha Animation, produced a new 3.5-minute animated film in just six days in direct response to urgent requests from partners in the DRC and Uganda.

"This video is the fourth in a series of animations on Ebola containment and prevention," Kharas said. "It came about not because we thought of it from far away, but in response to an urgent request from the DR Congo and Uganda."