Water shortages are hampering efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak in Mongbwalu, a gold-mining town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Ituri province, where many residents lack reliable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

Every morning, residents walk several kilometers carrying plastic containers to collect water from a nearby natural spring. For families struggling to afford water from public taps, the spring is often the only available source. Groundwater in parts of the town is also vulnerable to contamination from runoff linked to mining activities.

"Three water jugs cost 1,000 Congolese francs ($0.44). If you have ten jugs at home and only 1,000 francs left, plus children to feed, what do you do?" Francoise Ididi, a Mongbwalu resident posed. "That financial pressure is what forces us to walk miles every day to collect free spring water."

According to Oxfam, only one in five of Mongbwalu's estimated 140,000 residents has reliable access to safe water. Families must ration the water they have for drinking, cooking and cleaning, leaving less available for regular handwashing, a key measure in preventing the spread of Ebola.

The shortage is also evident at Mongbwalu's central market, where hundreds of people gather daily. "There are no handwashing stations and no sanitizers here," said market vendor Neema Mave. "We go the entire day without washing our hands unless we did so at home. The authorities need to take action."

Some non-governmental organizations have installed water tanks to help ease the shortage, while groundwater sources provide relief to parts of the community. But with gold mining contributing to water contamination, residents continue to face limited access to safe water as health authorities work to contain the Ebola outbreak.