The governor of a province in the DR Congo stated that the Ebola outbreak requires a rapid response to prevent a catastrophe
Kyiv • UNN
The Congolese governor warned of a catastrophe due to the Ebola outbreak and a lack of resources. The WHO has already declared a public health emergency of international concern.
The military governor of Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Johnny Luboya Nkashama, stated that the Ebola outbreak requires an urgent international response, otherwise the region faces a catastrophe. This was reported by BBC, according to UNN.
Congo reports lack of resources to fight the outbreak
Ituri province is the epicenter of the current Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo.
According to the governor, the situation resembles a "war," and the region lacks the resources to fight it.
People in the affected areas are not receiving enough food. There are also problems with other diseases and overcrowding,
He called for a "rapid response," including strengthening human resource capacity and establishing secure treatment centers to prevent a "catastrophe" in Ituri.
WHO declared an international emergency
According to official data, since the outbreak was declared on May 15, more than 900 suspected cases of Ebola and 223 suspected deaths have been recorded in the country.
The World Health Organization stated that the disease could spread faster than previously thought and declared a public health emergency of international concern.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the scale of the outbreak is outstripping the pace of the response.
Those responding to the situation are forced to play catch-up with developments,
Outbreak already recorded in Uganda
Ebola cases have also been confirmed in North and South Kivu provinces, as well as in neighboring Uganda, where seven confirmed cases have been registered.
The Governor of Ituri stated that the region urgently needs qualified medical personnel and funding.
Our existing resources were directed towards the war, and now this second war requires even more,
According to Nkashama, relatives of those who died from Ebola have already attacked two treatment centers in an attempt to take the bodies of their loved ones.
Over $300 million planned to be mobilized to fight the outbreak
The head of Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, reported that countries in the region have agreed on a budget of $319 million to combat the outbreak.
According to him, only 10% of the necessary funding has been secured so far.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has already pledged the first $5 million to support the plan.
Africa CDC also warned that the risk of Ebola spreading exists for several other African countries, including Angola, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia.
The current outbreak is the 17th in the DR Congo since the discovery of the Ebola virus in 1976.