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The precarious security situation in the DRC continues to deteriorate, and earlier today Oxfam announced a suspension of their Ebola response due to violent protests in the region in the following statement:
Oxfam forced to suspend Ebola response in DR Congo following pre-election violence
Report from Oxfam
Published on 28 Dec 2018
Oxfam has been forced to suspend its work in the Ebola ravaged areas of Beni and Butembo, due to violent protests following the announcement that people in these areas won’t be able to cast their votes for a new president, when the rest of country goes to the polls this Sunday.A few minutes ago Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization - issued the following statement via an emailed press release to journalists.
Raphael Mbuyi, Oxfam’s acting Country Director in the DRC said: “This is an extremely worrying situation, as every time the Ebola response has been suspended before we’ve seen a big spike in the number of new cases. This could mean Ebola spreading to even more people and potentially other countries in the region, putting many more lives at risk.
“However, it’s not surprising that people who have had their votes taken away at the last minute are frustrated and going to the streets. These people deserve to have their say as well.
“All parties need to find a way for people who have been devastated by Ebola and have lived through decades of violent conflict, to cast their vote.
“Whatever the outcome, there needs to be an end to the years of misery people in this country have had to endure. Just because elections are being held does not mean there will be peace.”
/Ends
Statement on disruptions to the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
28 December 2018 - WHO and partners are continuing to respond to the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite a deterioration of the security situation since yesterday morning.
Yesterday our teams in Beni were unable to carry out critical field work, including vaccinations, contact tracing, and following up on alerts of potential new cases. Protests at government buildings in Beni spilled over to an Ebola transit centre, frightening people waiting for Ebola test results and the staff who were caring for them. Staff at the centre temporarily withdrew and most suspected cases were transferred to a nearby treatment centre.
In Butembo, some alerts of potential cases were investigated and confirmed cases were referred to treatment centres but teams were unable to trace contacts or to conduct vaccinations.
Response activities have not been interrupted in other affected areas.
We have reached a critical point in the Ebola response. After an intensification of field activities, we were seeing hopeful signs in many areas, including a recent decrease in cases in Beni.
These gains could be lost if we suffer a period of prolonged insecurity, resulting in increased transmission. That would be a tragedy for the local population, who have already suffered too much.
Our teams in Beni and Butembo are doing everything possible to continue responding, despite the challenging security environment. For example, in Beni, contact tracing is being resumed with the support of local community relays, and WHO is supporting local health authorities to undertake other critical surveillance functions where possible.
In general, the communities in affected areas have been supportive of the response. We ask for everyone to protect health facilities and provide access for responders to the affected populations so that we can stop this outbreak. The population must also have safe access to transit and treatment centres that save lives and stop the spread of Ebola.
Working side by side with the Ministry of Health and our partners, our priority is to end the outbreak. We hope to return to full operations as soon as possible while remaining committed to ensuring the safety of all staff deployed. We cannot afford to take a step back at this critical point in the response.
Media contact:
Tarik Jašarević
Mobile: +41 793 676 214
Tel: +41 22 791 5099
E-mail: jasarevict@who.int
Ten weeks ago the WHO IHR Committee Determined The DRC Ebola Outbreak Was Not Currently A PHEIC (Public Health Emergency Of International Concern), while noting multiple challenges, including the very complex security situation in the region.
While progress has been made over the past month in containing this outbreak, those gains could be quickly erased should emergency responders be unable to quickly resume evaluating new cases, tracing contacts, and administering vaccines.
