Democratic Republic Of Congo
Health workers involved in tackling Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Beni on Wednesday resumed their outreach operations following a two-day suspension because of an attack by rebels.
21 people were killed when rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked Beni, a flashpoint city in the North Kivu region on Saturday forcing Ebola control work to stop.
The local authorities agreed to allow the health workers to restart following a warning by the World Heath Organization (WHO) on Tuesday that the disease was likely to spiral out of control.
On Tuesday, the WHO warned of an Ebola ‘perfect storm’ brewing in the eastern DR Congo.
“We are now extremely concerned that several factors may be coming together over the next weeks to months to create a potential perfect storm. A perfect storm of active conflict limiting our ability to access civilians, distrust by segments of the community, already traumatized by decades of conflict and of murder, driven by a fear of a terrifying disease, but also exploited and manipulated by local politicians prior to an election,” WHO’s head of emergency response Peter Salama told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday.
The WHO said efforts to control Ebola had to resume because it was spreading to border areas and Uganda was facing an imminent threat.
Health workers will now be able to continue with vaccinations and the tracing of people who have contact with suspected Ebola patients.
A hundred people have died since the start of the outbreak in July.
01:38
Sexual violence in conflict increased by 50% in 2023, says UN
Go to video
DR Congo names first female prime minister amid escalating violence
01:41
Landslide in Rwanda causes devastation in bordering Congo
01:34
Liberians celebrate their dead, 10 years after Ebola
01:12
Is Rwanda opposed to an AU-backed SADC operation in eastern DRC?
02:00
SADC army chiefs visit Goma amid clashes between DRC army and rebels