ICN condemns fatal attack on nurse in DRC and warns of deadly risks from health misinformation

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) expresses its deepest condolences following the killing of a nurse and serious injury of another health worker while responding to an Ebola alert in Bafwasende, Tshopo province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). ICN stands alongside their families, colleagues and the DRC nursing community, recognizing that other nursing colleagues have also lost their lives in previous attacks.

Responding to the tragedy, ICN Chief Executive Officer Howard Catton warned that health misinformation and the breakdown of trust in science are becoming deadly threats to nurses and other health workers.

Nurses are widely recognized as among the most trusted professionals, making them essential sources of reliable health information. Misinformation can undermine that trust and expose health workers to hostility and violence. However, violence during outbreaks can have multiple causes, including fear, longstanding mistrust and communities feeling excluded from decisions. Effective responses must involve communities as partners, supporting local leadership and building shared ownership of measures to protect health.

This danger adds to the continued deliberate military targeting of health workers and facilities in conflict zones. As a founding member of the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, ICN has repeatedly condemned the normalisation of attacks on healthcare and called for respect for international humanitarian law and accountability for violations.

Nurses responding to infectious diseases also continue to face unacceptable shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE). ICN has previously raised the alarm over inadequate protection for nurses responding to Ebola and warned against repeating the deadly failures of COVID-19. Its calls for immediate access to PPE, training and support remain urgent, alongside its demand for the WHO Pandemic Agreement to be finalized and made operational.

Through #NursesforPeace, ICN is also supporting the Ordre National des Infirmiers du Congo (ONIC) to strengthen nurses’ protection and the Ebola response, with training in infection prevention and control, early detection and community engagement.

Howard Catton said:

“Health misinformation and the breakdown of trust in science are now a deadly risk to nurses and other health workers. This comes in addition to the continued deliberate military targeting of health facilities and staff in conflict zones and the lack of protective equipment for those responding to infectious diseases.

“There is no healthcare without health workers and if the world is serious about the right to health it has to be equally serious about protecting those that deliver it.”

ICN calls for action to counter health misinformation, protect health workers and facilities from violence, and ensure nurses have the equipment and support they need to deliver care safely.