DR Congo: Efforts ramp up as Ebola outbreak accelerates beyond borders
As of 17 June, 896 confirmed cases and 232 deaths had been reported across 31 health zones in the country, with Uganda confirming 19 cases and two deaths, according to the latest updates released on Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO).To safely deliver lifesaving assistance, WHO’s chief Tedros called for a ceasefire last month amid decades-long clashes between the Congolese authorities and the M23 armed group in eastern DRC, where more than two million forcibly displaced people – including over 320,000 refugees – live and Ebola continues to spread.Now, the risk is regional, Dr. Allen Maina of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said, noting that eastern DRC flanks an area where trade, family ties and refugee movements link Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and South Sudan.Disease and armed conflictAs such, UNHCR is reinforcing preparedness in those countries, working with governments, WHO and partners to strengthen surveillance, screening, infection prevention, communication and water, sanitation and hygiene support in refugee-hosting areas and border corridors. “We aim to prevent further cross-border transmission without impeding people seeking safety,” he said.A case in point occurred on 7 June, he said, when UNHCR monitored the arrival of some 2,250 people from Mbau, 20 km from Beni, one of the outbreak’s epicentres, after movements of armed groups had triggered panic and led them to flee to Oicha, North Kivu, an Ebola-affected zone already hosting more than 14,300 displaced people.Frontline emergency servicesMore than 115 UN health agency experts have been deployed across affected provinces, with over 110 metric tonnes of emergency supplies delivered to support frontline operations, WHO interim regional emergency director Dr. Marie Roseline Belizaire said from Bunia, DRC.
