In DRC there was long experience with Ebola – this was the seventh outbreak of the disease here. The country had the knowledge and the people needed to stop an outbreak – plus strong technical assistance and support from WHO.

The year 2014 saw 2 parallel outbreaks of Ebola virus disease in Africa. The West African outbreak – which began in December 2013 and mainly affects Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – continues to this day. A separate and unrelated outbreak in Boende, Equateur Province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – first reported to WHO on 24 August – was officially declared at an end on 21 November, less than 3 months later.