WHO urges ceasefire in DRC to contain Ebola as cases surge
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Red Cross outreach workers talking to a woman in Bunia city, Democratic Republic of Congo, to raise awareness about Ebola on May 25.
PHOTO: REUTERS
GENEVA/DAKAR – The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 27 called for a ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to contain an Ebola outbreak, saying that ongoing fighting was driving mass displacement and spreading the disease in overcrowded camps.
The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, was declared an emergency of international concern by the WHO earlier in May, and cases are rising sharply.
“Eastern DRC now faces a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict, with the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province outpacing the response,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is due to travel to the region this week.
“We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling. We urge all warring parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire to contain this outbreak,” he said on X.
More than 900 suspected cases and over 200 suspected deaths have so far been reported in three provinces in eastern DRC, including North and South Kivu provinces, partially controlled by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
Aid group Save the Children said on May 27 that a quarter of the confirmed deaths were those of children, calling for a scale-up in infection prevention measures.
Fighting has continued in eastern DRC despite mediation efforts led by the US and others, and millions of people are displaced. The UN refugee agency said transit and reception sites in Uganda’s West Nile region, which borders DRC, are at more than double capacity, a document showed.
Aid groups are rushing staff and equipment to eastern DRC, but attacks on medics because of community distrust have hampered efforts, they say. So far, donors have pledged around US$500 million (S$640 million) to help with the outbreak but not all has been disbursed, according to health officials.
Shortage of protective equipment
A doctor in Butembo in the province of North Kivu, where there have been six deaths out of seven cases of Ebola, told Reuters they have only two body bags left, amid a shortage of equipment.
“If there are more deaths, I don't know how we will manage,” the doctor said on the condition of anonymity due to concerns it could impact their employment.
“We recently had to secure a body – we had no choice but to use our own money to buy a body bag,” the doctor added.
The doctor also reported critical shortages of soap, chlorine and personal protective gear, including boots, body suits, masks and gloves, and said that foreign aid cuts to international and local non-governmental organisations were partly to blame. REUTERS
