Beni, June 8th, 2026 (CPA).- The inadequacy of Ebola preventive measures at the entry checkpoints of Eringeti, in Beni Territory, North Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, was denounced on Monday by a civil society coalition interviewed by CPA. “The town of Eringeti has two entry routes, through Luna and Kainama, used by all travellers coming from Mongbwalu, Bunia and the entire Ituri Province. However, there are no adequate Ebola prevention facilities in place,” said Osée Paluku Kaliste, president of the Youth Parliament of Beni Territory. He pointed out that these entry points lack thermo-flash devices and health professionals to screen travellers’ temperatures, leaving the population exposed to the Ebola virus.
Osée Paluku Kaliste welcomed the fact that no Ebola case has yet been recorded in Eringeti despite the deadly nature of the disease. According to him, the residents of Eringeti have simply been fortunate that no suspected case has yet emerged in the Bambuba Kisiki grouping. He therefore called on the provincial government of North Kivu to deploy health personnel for monitoring and screening operations, considering that the area receives heavy traffic through the Luna and Kainama checkpoints, which serve as the main entry points for travellers arriving from Mongbwalu, the principal epicenter of the Boundibudjo strain of Ebola.
He also called for the deployment of handwashing kits, thermo-flash devices, hand sanitizers and other essential equipment to ensure effective protection of the population. Furthermore, he urged residents of the Bambuba Kisiki grouping to improve sanitation in their compounds and advised women who wash dishes in rivers to stop disposing of children’s fecal matter in the water, warning that such practices could contaminate children accustomed to swimming there. The spread of Ebola virus disease is accelerating in North Kivu, where a treatment center in Butembo was reactivated on Monday to provide local care and monitoring not only for suspected cases and their contacts but also, and above all, for patients who have tested positive for the disease.