How Peace in the DRC Can Prevent the Next Global Epidemic

Peace is more than the end of conflict. Peace is the foundation for health security. Since January, thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the fighting between M23 rebels and the Congolese army. Crucially, the war in eastern DRC also crippled the efforts to stem the spread of lethal diseases in a region already suffering from outbreaks of mpox, Ebola, cholera, malaria, and measles. In 2023, as the world was recovering from COVID-19 pandemic, more than 12,000 suspected cases of mpox, a viral disease closely related to smallpox, were reported in the DRC. The outbreak of war in January exacerbated the epidemics in eastern DRC as fighting wrecked the healthcare infrastructure and severely limited access to health services, especially the vaccinations. Most of the mpox cases in the DRC emerged in regions affected by armed conflict and turned these communities into epicenters of unchecked disease transmission.  I lead the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, a public health agency of the African Union. Along with the World Health Organization and our other partners, we mobilized response teams and intervened with disease surveillance, vaccination, case management, and risk communication to stem the spread of mpox.  The armed conflict in eastern DRC severely hampered our efforts to contain the outbreak. Disease surveillance teams had to grounded after travel became too dangerous. Clinics were looted. Health workers were attacked. Cold-chain vaccines never reached their destinations. For the communities living in regions affected by the conflict, the promise of vaccination remained a mirage. Read More: It Has Never Been Harder to Be a Humanitarian The mpox outbreak spread beyond the DRC’s borders by July and affected lives and livelihoods in more than 25 African countries. In 2024, 72,506 cases of mpox and 1,288 deaths were reported by 20 African Union countries. By late July, 89,566 mpox cases were reported by 25 African Union countries, and 720 deaths were reported by eight member states.  On July 19, the DRC government and M23 rebels signed a Declaration of Principles in Qatar, committing to a peace agreement, which offers the opportunity to rebuild health systems, restore early warning mechanisms, and reach vulnerable communities with lifesaving care. Without peace, diseases spread unchecked. With peace, outbreaks can be contained at their source. What happens in eastern DRC could determine whether the next pandemic is prevented or allowed to spread globally. Waging peace, preventing epidemics Health security cannot be achieved without peace. We welcome the DRC peace agreement signatories have committed to increasing cross-border public health cooperation, including joint disease prevention in border areas, coordinating epidemic outbreak control, and sharing information to advance scientific research and health-related commercial opportunities. Peace enables the vaccination of vulnerable children, testing and treatment of diseases like malaria and mpox, and restoration of early warning systems that have long been underperforming. Peace helps rebuild trust, which helps people decide whether to seek care, accept vaccines, or report symptoms. Without it, even the best interventions fail. And peace means mobile clinics can finally reach forgotten communities. Peace creates the conditions to rebuild and transform the DRC’s health system into a resilient, inclusive, and community-centered system that can withstand future shocks and serve generations to come. To achieve all this, we need urgent investments in peace, health infrastructure, and equitable access to care. We at the Africa CDC proposed a regional health investment plan to the United States positioning health as a core driver of economic growth, peacebuilding, and regional integration, a plan that would bring together the DRC, Rwanda, Angola, and Zambia. Our proposal, aligned with the U.S.–Africa health security partnerships, seeks $645 million to finance health systems in and around mining corridors—disease surveillance labs, emergency responses, worker and community health services—to reduce risks of future epidemics shutting down mines and critical mineral supply chains. The funding for this health finance initiative would serve as a springboard to raise $3 billion in co-financing from development banks, private sectors and philanthropic organizations for health-related mining infrastructure. Our proposal presents a model for connecting biosecurity with economic resilience by integrating health infrastructure into vital mineral corridors, deploying advanced bio-surveillance technologies, and creating up to 100,000 jobs through local manufacturing. It would ensure that mineral security is supported by strong health systems across Central and Southern Africa.  Rebuilding Africa’s health systems The government of the DRC must place health at the center of its recovery agenda. Along with rebuilding healthcare facilities, it requires investing in a skilled health workforce, strengthening disease surveillance systems, and ensuring communities have access to timely care. Outbreaks must be detected and contained early, before they spiral into crises. Cross-border coordination and disease surveillance are essential as viruses do not respect borders. An outbreak in a remote village can become a global emergency, as the mpox epidemic has shown. International donors and global health agencies must shift their approach from emergency aid to helping rebuild health systems. That means funding malaria prevention, mpox response, and resilient, community-based surveillance networks. Read More: Cutting mRNA Research Could Be Our Deadliest Mistake Yet And finally, the negotiating parties—the DRC, Rwanda and M23 rebels—must uphold humanitarian access and protect the right to health as a cornerstone of peace. A permanent ceasefire must be implemented and respected. When diseases are allowed to spread in silence and mistrust and misinformation fester, we risk the next global pandemic. When communities are empowered, when health systems are strong, when peace is more than a promise, it becomes a platform for health security and progress.  The peace agreement in the DRC has the potential to shape the future for generations. The next outbreak can be stopped before it starts. A child with malaria can survive. And epidemics like mpox can be controlled at their origin. Peace is the beginning of healing, rebuilding, resilience. The United States and the world must not look away.