The ongoing Ebola virus outbreak is now the largest recorded in the region's history. For healthcare workers and officials on the ground, the days are long.
For Wivine Kabala, the day begins at 5.40am.
The sun won't be up for another 10 minutes, but in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri region, the humidity is already climbing.
Ms Kabala is a psychosocial expert for UNICEF in Bunia, the epicentre of an Ebola virus outbreak which has now surpassed 7,000 cases.
In Ituri, 28 of 36 health zones have reported cases, the highest of any affected region.
As of September 10, it accounted for 5,406 confirmed cases since the start of the current outbreak.
Ms Kabala's day starts with the team handover, and by 8am she has donned her protective gear and entered the Ebola treatment centre.
New patients and their families begin arriving fast.
A 17-year-old girl arrives, bringing her six-year-old sister and a three-month-old baby.
Their mother has been hospitalised for several days, and they don't understand what's happening.
Rumours and conspiracy theories have been spreading since the disease began to spread several months ago.
For now, Ms Kabala sits with the girls, and does her best to transform the treatment centre from a "place of fear" to somewhere they feel reassurance.
"I spend a lot of time talking to patients and their families, explaining what Ebola virus is," she tells the ABC.
"I would like people to understand that Ebola virus exists, and, most importantly, to know the preventive measures they can take to protect themselves from the virus."
This Ebola outbreak has now become the largest on record in the history of the DRC.
A total 7,672 cumulative confirmed cases have been recorded as of September 20, according to local officials.
There have been 3,699 confirmed deaths to date. So far 2,703 of them have been in Ituri, where Ms Kabala is based.
The mortality rate, according to a September 20 situation report by the DRC's Ebola task force, was sitting at 48.2 per cent.
Unlike other Ebola virus outbreaks, this time transmission comes from the rarer Bundibugyo Ebola virus.
The nature of the disease meant it did not show up on available testing kits for weeks, leaving health officials playing catch up with the spread.
Daily reports by the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare show the number of cases increasing by anywhere from 50 new cases to more than 70 new cases per day.
"Seven health zones have now passed the 42-day threshold without any new confirmed cases," the latest report said.
"Consequently, South Kivu is no longer among the currently affected provinces."
The DRC's eastern region, the centre of the outbreak, is one of the most unstable areas in the world.
The DRC is the site of one of the displacement crises on the planet, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Conflict, instability, epidemics and climate shock have taken a severe toll on the country, leaving almost 1 million displaced people at the epicentre of the situation.
While the disease had initially been reported in neighbouring Uganda, that outbreak has since been declared over.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) made the announcement after 42 consecutive days without a new confirmed case.
Uganda's last Ebola virus patient was discharged from care on July 16.
While Ms Kabala sits with families and patients at the treatment centre in Bunia, Dr Babou Rukengeza Makanda has also gotten an early start.
As the head of the Ebola Response for aid organisation Save The Children, it's his job to make sure the health system stays functioning.
In the mornings, he tries to keep a routine.
"Before starting the day, I take a little time to organise my priorities and prepare myself for what may come," he says.
"You have to focus on what you can influence and make the best decisions with the information available."
Over the coming hours, he will review the latest updates from health officials on the ground and check in with his team in the field.
Then his meetings begin — sometimes with the Ministry of Health, the WHO, or health zone teams.
"Another aspect that may surprise people is how much coordination and problem-solving is required behind the scenes to keep the response moving," he says.
"At the same [time], I have to plan a time to brief any new staff arriving in Ebola zones, ensure [they are] getting an Ebola kit, and information about prevention, health care, any medevac situation."
Infection has fallen by 26 per cent in Ituri over the last three weeks, the WHO said in a September 23 update.
But at the same time, North Kivu province recorded a 73 per cent increase in infection.
WHO Regional Emergency director for Africa Dr Marie Roseline Belizaire said the patterns showed the outbreak was "still not under control".
Adults accounted for most infections, but children under five have the highest fatality rate of more than 60 per cent.
Though their days look different, both Ms Kabala and Dr Rukengeza Makanda both take a quiet moment after the long hours are over.
Before she joined the Ebola response, Ms Kabala was a psychosocial facilitator in child protection, working at the Division of Social Affairs.
"I take a little time for deep relaxation … before, during or after work," she says.
As the sun sets, she makes a last round of the treatment centre's nursery.
Inside are children whose parents have been hospitalised, some of them only babies.
"Several children are waiting there, others are asking for their parents," she says.
"At the end of the day, the figures in the report will mention admissions, discharges, one death, families sensitised and children followed.
"But behind these figures lies a deeper reality.
As Dr Rukengeza Makanda's day ends, he tries to reflect on what has been done, and figure out what has to come next.
"I would like people to understand that this is much more than an Ebola response," he says.
"It is about protecting people while keeping essential health services available during a very difficult period, in volatile humanitarian circumstances."
Together, he says, everyone is working together to fight an outbreak "of a scale the DRC has not experienced before".
"I am impressed by the commitment of the Congolese health workers and community members we work with every day.
"They continue to work under difficult circumstances, often with limited resources, but remain committed to caring for their communities.
"Their knowledge, resilience and dedication are central to the response."