With more than 9,200 confirmed cases and 4,400 deaths, children are vulnerable 'on so many levels'
asserted
children → confirm → levels
Outside of a treatment centre for Ebola in a northeastern corner of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the country battles its worst outbreak on record, Neema Nyaloka bounces a baby on her lap.
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Nyaloka → battle → lap
Nyaloka survived Ebola herself.
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Nyaloka → survive → Ebola
Now, she works with UNICEF to take care of the droves of children isolating from their parents who are being treated for it.
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who → work → it
UNICEF is operating 12 other child-care centres next to treatment centres full of Ebola patients.
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UNICEF → operate → patients
Some kids are waiting for their parents to recover, but others have been left stranded after family members passed away.
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members → wait → ?
"We have children that are completely orphans, so they lost both parents," Lucia Elmi, director of global emergency programs at UNICEF, said last week.
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Elmi → have → UNICEF
It's estimated that at least 1,900 children have been separated from their caregivers because of Ebola.
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children → estimate → Ebola
It's just one more way that children are bearing the brunt of an outbreak which has spread to at least seven provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and outstripped the 2018-2020 outbreak to become the largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak in Congo's history.
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which → bear → history
As of Oct. 15, more than 9,200 cases have been confirmed, while deaths have surpassed 4,400, according to the latest numbers from the D.R.C.'s public health institute.
uncertain
deaths → confirm → institute
Although most cases are among adults, children have a much higher fatality rate, at 60 per cent compared to 40 per cent for adults, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates.
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Organization → have → adults
Children walk by posters warning people about Ebola on June 24 in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Children → walk → Congo
"Children are really impacted by Ebola on so many levels," Amy Mina, a project leader from Canada with Save the Children, told CBC News.
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Mina → impact → News
"Sixty-one per cent of the children who died of Ebola are under the age of five."
'Fighting for your life'
Children in the region already face high levels of malnutrition and displacement due to ongoing armed conflict.
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Children → die → conflict
The Ituri province in northeastern Congo, where Mina works, is where the outbreak began, and is still the heaviest-hit region, accounting for 73 per cent of cases.
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outbreak → work → cases
Congo's Ebola outbreak surpasses 4,000 deaths amid violence and mistrust
As Congo Ebola deaths pass 3,000, officials seek to track spread via mobile data
Schools reopen despite concerns amid Congo's Ebola outbreak
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Schools → surpass → outbreak
Save the Children works with schools and communities to provide supplies and training for staff to recognize symptoms among their students.
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staff → work → students
Every morning since schools opened, the temperatures of every teacher and student are checked as part of this work.
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temperatures → open → work
But attendance has dropped, Mina says, because many parents worry schools could be transmission sites.
uncertain
schools → drop → ?
They're also avoiding seeking treatment at the hospital for their children for other health issues out of fear of Ebola.
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They → avoid → Ebola
"Children aren't only dying of Ebola," Mina said.
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Mina → die → Ebola
"We are seeing a drop in the number of families and children visiting health centres … and children die of malaria, and dysentery and respiratory diseases.
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children → see → malaria
Cholera is also seeing a rise in the west of the country, with more than 51,000 suspected cases reported since the beginning of 2026.
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cases → see → 2026
A 13-year-old student washes her hands outside her school in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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student → wash → Congo
Save the Children is working with schools during the Ebola outbreak, supplying infection-prevention kits and training teachers to counter misinformation about the disease.
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teachers → work → disease
When children contract Ebola, they have to be entirely isolated to combat the disease just like adults are, interacting only with caretakers dressed head to toe in fully protective gear, which can be terrifying for kids, experts say.
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experts → contract → kids
Children are already vulnerable to viruses, with fewer reserves to fight off loss of fluids from illness, says Dr. Joanne Liu, director of the Pandemic and Emergency Readiness Lab at the School of Population and Global Health at McGill University.
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Liu → fight → University
Liu, a pediatric emergency physician, led emergency responses during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in west Africa.
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Liu → lead → Africa
"Can you imagine fighting for your life on your own without your parents?" she said.
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she → imagine → parents
"We know that that kind of isolation … creates emotional stress, agitation and irritability in the children."
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kind → know → children
Amid the surge in Ebola, pregnant women are also avoiding clinics, missing prenatal care and choosing to deliver their babies at home.
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women → avoid → home
The UN says, compared to last year, maternal deaths in the region have nearly doubled.
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deaths → say → region
And most deaths from Ebola are happening outside of treatment centres, meaning medical workers can't fully track the chains of transmission to stop them.
"
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workers → happen → them
They're dying at home, which represents a huge opportunity for more transmission because they're being cared for by their family, their community members," said Stephanie Hoffmann, a project co-ordinator with Doctors Without Borders in North Kivu, D.R.C.
Canada extends Ebola travel restrictions for another 30 days
Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo:
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Canada → die → Congo
What's going on and why is the outbreak so alarming?
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outbreak → go → ?
Part of the reason this has gotten so "out of control," she said, is because of the gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a foreign aid program dismantled in 2025 due to alleged inefficiency and wasteful spending, according to the Trump administration.
uncertain
she → get → administration
Researchers have estimated that the shuttering of services has already caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.
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shuttering → estimate → people
When USAID was operating in the region, cases of Ebola were detected earlier on, Hoffman said, allowing for tracking and isolating.
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Hoffman → operate → tracking
But with less funding and support, cases had already spread dangerously far by the time the outbreak was official.
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outbreak → spread → time
"I can't say that with the current response, there's going to be an end in sight."
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I → say → sight
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
