Unpaid wages and deadly risk: Why health workers are threatening to abandon the Ebola response | CNN

Every morning, Micheline Kayimpa pulls on layers of protective gear before stepping into an Ebola isolation ward in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), knowing that one small mistake could cost her life. At the Elikya Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia, the nurse spends her days caring for patients infected with Ebola — one of the world’s deadliest viruses — administering medicine and assisting those too weak to feed themselves. Because Ebola spreads through bodily fluids, even routine care exposes health workers to constant risk — from treating patients to cleaning contaminated spaces. “I am very afraid for my safety,” Kayimpa told CNN. “Sometimes, a small detail we overlook can prove fatal.” But as the outbreak grows at an alarming pace, health workers say they are battling more than the virus. After months of treating Ebola patients, Kayimpa says she has yet to receive a single government paycheck. The mother-of-four is among dozens of health workers who have protested delayed wages and threatened to boycott work. Kayimpa is working on the front line of what the World Health Organization says is now “the largest Ebola outbreak ever reported” in the DRC.