To the people of DRC, especially to the people of Ituri Jambo kwenu wakahaji wa Ituri Mbote na bino, bato ya Ituri My name is Tedros, and I am the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). But today, I am not writing to you as an official. I am writing to you as someone who knows your region, who has walked your streets, and who cares deeply about what happens to you and your families.
I am writing because I want to be with you in these moments. And I want you to know that you are not alone. From 2018 to 2020, I came fourteen times to North Kivu, the epicentre of the outbreak at that time.
Fourteen visits to Beni, Butembo, Katwa, Goma, and many other communities. During that outbreak, Ebola spread across North Kivu, South Kivu, and reached parts of Ituri as well. I was alongside families who had lost their loved ones.
I met health workers risking their lives every day. I met community leaders, traditional healers, religious leaders and business leaders who refused to abandon their people. I saw men and women show extraordinary courage in the most difficult of circumstances.
The people there, who saw me coming back again and again, wanted to give me a name that belonged to their community. They asked me whether I was the first, second, or third child of my parents. When I told them I was the firstborn, they gave me the name Dr Paluku.
It is a reminder that this work is not about titles or institutions. That outbreak was one of the most complex in history. It did not unfold in a stable, peaceful environment.
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