Traditional healers turn to ancestral remedies as Ebola spreads in DRC

In her garden, traditional healer Mariam Kabika searched for plants she believes could help treat Ebola, a deadly virus spreading in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

“I’m looking for eucalyptus leaves, avocado leaves, mango leaves and papaya leaves,” Kabika said in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province and the center of the latest outbreak.

Ituri lies in the country’s mineral-rich east, a region long scarred by conflict, poverty and weak state services.

The outbreak, declared on May 15, is the 17th Ebola flare-up in the Central African nation.

The World Health Organization says it has so far infected 359 people and killed 61.

Medical staff wearing protective equipment handle the body of an Ebola victim in a body bag at Bunia General Hospital, Bunia, DRC, June 3, 2026. (AFP Photo)

As health teams move in to contain the virus, they often encounter deep mistrust in local communities.

Traditional healers like Kabika, who live among residents and are widely trusted, find themselves on the front lines of the response to a disease spread through close contact and bodily fluids.

While there is no proven treatment for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the current outbreak, Kabika and her husband, Dauda Tshimanga, say they have developed a cure.

Ancestors’ laboratory

The couple’s practice, in a thatched hut, is cluttered with amulets, perfume to ward off evil spirits and herbal brews.

“The laboratory of the ancestors,” they call it.

“If the patient does not get better with the plants we have prepared, we bring them into this laboratory to invoke the spirits and ask the ancestors for help,” Tshimanga said.

Mariam Kabika (L) and her husband Dauda Tshimanga (R) prepare mixtures of medicinal plants and roots that they believe can cure Ebola, Bunia, DRC, June 2, 2026. (AFP Photo)

On a wall painted with red letters, they list the ailments they claim to treat: “Sexual weakness, typhoid, hernia” and now Ebola.

Tshimanga says he can treat Ebola with an inhalation of boiled plants taken morning, noon and night for three days.

Since the start of the latest outbreak, no patient has tried the treatment, but during previous outbreaks, he said, “we cured many people who came in bleeding, with fever.”

“Traditional medicine has not yet been brought into the treatment and response to this disease, but we are ready to contribute,” Tshimanga said.

Traditional healers

The couple are known in the Democratic Republic of Congo as tradi-practitioners, a profession that is not officially recognized, though it is regulated and, in theory, licensed.

Health infrastructure in eastern Congo can be weak or nonexistent, and diseases are often believed to stem from poisoning by an enemy, neighbor, colleague or relative.

As a result, many people turn to local healers for help.

Some Ebola patients “believe they are victims of poisoning and consult tradi-practitioners, who give them traditional remedies without dosage or supervision,” said Willy Beiza, a doctor in Bunia.

He said traditional remedies can delay diagnosis and proper medical care, with patients often arriving at health facilities in critical condition.

Effective response

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who visited Bunia last weekend, said in Geneva that community mistrust remains high.

“Some community leaders told me that they believe Ebola is not real,” he said.

A Doctors Without Borders (MSF) doctor wearing personal protective equipment moves through the isolated red zone to monitor patients, provide medical care, and ensure sanitation of the facility at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC), Munigi, DRC, June 2, 2026. (AFP Photo)

In a remote region affected by armed groups and where health workers are often shunned, traditional healers can play a key role.

The WHO says an effective Ebola response depends on integrating communities and respecting their practices.

During an outbreak last year, traditional authorities and local rituals helped involve communities in the response, the agency said.

Traditional leaders, for example, used isolation rituals for suspected cases and discouraged washing bodies and collecting dead animals.

For now, the response to the current surge has been slow to scale up.

Only about 45% of contacts are being followed up, the WHO said.

“We are asking tradi-practitioners to refer patients to health centers, and we are in the process of distributing protective equipment to them,” said Marie Roseline Belizaire, head of emergencies for WHO Africa.

As Tshimanga put it: “The Ebola outbreak is real and it kills people. We must not take it lightly.”

DAILYSABAH