Response must outpace spread of Ebola: UN relief chief

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The world must move faster to contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is growing exponentially, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator warned on Tuesday.

Although the UN and its partners have scaled up their response, a $1.1 billion funding gap remains as the DRC grapples with the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.

During the first 100 days of the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed 635 cases and 399 deaths across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In the first 100 days since the DRC Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak was declared on 15 May, there were 5,515 cases and 2,642 deaths.

By Monday, local authorities had reported 6,100 confirmed cases and 2,950 deaths, with more than 5,000 cases recorded in Ituri Province alone.

“The response is growing and has been scaled up, but the virus is moving faster,” relief chief Tom Fletcher said. “And unless we scale up urgently, more lives will be lost and the threat will grow.”

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Cautious success in Uganda

Mr. Fletcher commended the DRC Government and UN partners for their efforts to contain the epidemic.

He pointed to Uganda, where the WHO last week declared an end to the country’s latest Ebola outbreak.

Uganda succeeded in containing the virus through rapid case detection and confirmation, contact tracing, isolation and clinical care, infection prevention and control, community engagement and strengthened surveillance, according to WHO Africa.

The UN’s migration agency, IOM, has also conducted nearly 23 million health screenings in the DRC and neighbouring countries, helping monitor population movements, identify potential cases and reduce the risk of transmission across borders, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday.

Mr. Fletcher has allocated more than $57 million from the UN’s donor-supported Central Emergency Response Fund to Ebola response and preparedness efforts in the DRC and neighbouring countries.

But the response is unfolding against the backdrop of an already severe humanitarian crisis, particularly in eastern DRC, where conflict between Government forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels has displaced communities and complicated efforts to reach people in need.

“It is not simply a health emergency,” Mr. Fletcher said. “It is also a humanitarian emergency layered onto many existing humanitarian emergencies.”

The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, recently responded to clashes between the Congolese Armed Forces, Uganda soldiers and suspected members of the so-called Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamic State-affiliated insurgent group based in the east – the epicentre of the record outbreak.

MONUSCO is also expanding programmes that have helped more than 60,000 people safely access farmland and schools in Djugu territory, supporting protection efforts and helping create conditions for displaced families to return home, Mr. Dujarric said.

World must prioritise Ebola response

Mr. Fletcher urged governments to ensure humanitarian workers can reach people in need and to keep the battle against the runaway outbreak high on the international agenda, which he said is essential to preventing the virus from spreading.

Closing the funding gap and bringing the outbreak under control will require sustained political commitment and a coordinated international response, he said.

“We have the experience, the tools and extraordinary people risking their lives to stop this epidemic. What we need now is political will, access and resources,” Mr. Fletcher said. “We have beaten Ebola before, and we can do it again.”