Fighting fear, ending tuberculosis

Congolese communities confront the world's deadliest infectious disease

March 23, 2026

Female scientist in a lab coat, purple gloves, and mask pipetting at a table. — Rapid test results allow people with TB, especially those with deadlier drug-resistant forms, to promptly begin appropriate treatment.

Photo: UNDP Republic of the Congo/Pascale Touloulou

While tuberculosis (TB) harms health, fear and stigma can prove deadly.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Republic of the Congo, people with one of the world’s oldest infectious diseases, and its deadliest, often face rejection. Dissuaded by stigma, they may delay testing or lack the support needed to complete gruelling treatments, allowing infections to worsen, mutate and spread.

Communities, frontline workers and health systems are rising to the challenge. Working together—government, UNDP and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria and partners—they fight misinformation and scale-up early detection and treatment.

Two women sit at a table with papers and a sign, one wears blue shirt. — Fear, stigma and misinformation can result in people delaying tuberculosis testing or abandoning treatment, with potentially fatal consequences.

Photo: UNDP Republic of the Congo/Pascale Touloulou

“I was rejected by my family,” said Fabrice Ilunga, a TB survivor in Tshikapa, DRC.

Ilunga now educates his community with OneImpact, an innovative digital application for people affected by TB, supported by the Stop TB Partnership. Through Club des Amis Damien, a volunteer network, he helps connect people with health workers and address barriers to treatment. Since July 2025, over 800 users have made nearly 900 real-time reports across five provinces, many related to stigma and discrimination.

“As a former patient, trust is essential. We mediate with families and refer people to legal clinics, when necessary,” Ilunga added.

The data also provides vital feedback to the National TB Control Programme, immediately revealing gaps such as medicine shortages and helping authorities improve services and access.

“I have lived through TB, so I am better equipped to monitor service quality. For example, I can assess the health education provided or help report treatment side-effects,” said Exaucé Manzambi, a community worker in Kinshasa, DRC.

In Nyiragongo, DRC, insecurity, displacement and distrust fostered by conflict can also compromise care. Through Action Damien, Gisèle Vwambale works with local and religious leaders and TB survivors to raise awareness, while supplementing emergency medicines delivered during conflict in North Kivu.

“We prioritize proximity and community-based approaches to maintain trust and the continuity of services,” Vwambale said.

Vwambale and her counterparts across 24 provinces have referred more people who may have TB for testing—exceeding targets by nearly 15 percent by the end of 2025. Their community engagement helps connect the estimated 125,000 people who remain without treatment to healthcare.

Doctor in white lab coat with her folded hands at a desk; stacks of folders and books nearby. — Dr Darrel Ornelle Elion Assiana leads the national TB reference laboratory in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, which has significantly scaled-up operations to improve rapid and accurate TB testing.

Photo: UNDP Republic of the Congo/Pascale Touloulou

Across the Congo River in Brazzaville, Dr Darrel Ornelle Elion Assiana has seen similar TB-related discrimination in the Republic of the Congo. In addition to community outreach, the health system must deliver swift testing and treatment to minimize TB’s public health and social impacts.

She heads the National Mycobacterial Reference Laboratory, which has nearly tripled the number of testing centres with partners such as the World Health Organization (WHO).

Since 2018, the laboratory has been upgraded to biosafety level 3, meeting a high WHO standard. Upgrades enabled technicians to analyze TB bacterial cultures and detect resistance to anti-TB medicines, allowing doctors to diagnose TB more accurately.

Improvements also enabled health authorities to expand the use of Xpert MTB/RIF rapid testing to 31 TB healthcare facilities. A system for transporting biological samples for testing from outlying areas further increased access to services.

“Sometimes, people lack the financial resources to travel to diagnostic centres. For people living far away, we contribute to rapid TB diagnosis,” said Mary Vincent Paola Passy Mambou, who brings samples for testing from the Jane Vialle Diagnosis and Treatment Centre.

Female scientist in a white lab coat stands in a bright laboratory with a bench and equipment.

Photograph of a woman in a white lab coat standing on a street, holding a lime-green sample container.

Rapid diagnosis allows life-saving treatment to begin without delay.

“The time taken to deliver results is around 24 hours. Patients are satisfied with this rapid follow-up,” said Dr Elion Assiana.

On-site laboratory services also support doctors to assess patient needs accurately and immediately make decisions related to care. For drug-resistant TB, they can monitor treatment effectiveness, which is essential to stopping transmission.

“Doctors can prescribe medication with confidence,” she said.

Two photographs: left: doctors and patient at a desk; right: hands sorting out medication. — Improvements in TB diagnosis ensure more people receive and complete treatment, a key condition for ending the disease.

Photos: UNDP Republic of the Congo/Pascale Touloulou

From 2022-2024, the use of WHO-recommended molecular testing surged by 133 percent, more than doubling bacteriological confirmation rates. By 2023, successful treatment rates reached 86 percent. Deaths declined by 32 percent from 2015-2024.

A reliable laboratory network also strengthens pandemic preparedness and resilience. Local services have reduced costly sample transfers to a laboratory in Kinshasa, while sample transportation systems are also used for HIV and mpox testing, boosting responses to other outbreaks and epidemics.

White wall of a laboratory with a large sign and a smaller sign along a street; palm trees and cloudy sky behind. — Upgrades to the Republic of the Congo’s TB reference laboratory, diagnostic network and sample transportation system strengthen public health resilience, including responses to HIV and mpox.

Photo: UNDP Republic of the Congo/Pascale Touloulou

Among the most-affected countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo are leading the way to end TB globally. But TB still claimed 1.2 million lives worldwide in 2024. In the same year, funding fell to less than one-third of the global target and further cuts threaten these hard-won gains.

With sustained investment in health and community systems—from frontline workers to mobile technologies to advanced diagnostics—countries and partners can turn the tide on TB, transforming a disease marked by fear into a story of resilience.