UN and Partners Continue to Support Ebola Response in DR Congo

The United Nations (UN) and its partners continue to support efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a UN humanitarian agency on Thursday (2/7).

In Ituri Province, health authorities have confirmed at least two Ebola cases in the Kigonze displacement camp, which houses approximately 15,000 people displaced by conflict in Bunia, stated the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

An Ebola treatment centre is currently being constructed in the Kigonze displacement camp, and a new programme providing free healthcare services for refugees was launched on Thursday. Partners are also scaling up community outreach and disease prevention efforts, including the installation of hand-washing stations, OCHA noted.

“However, a lack of community trust continues to hinder public health interventions. On 30 June, local authorities reported one civilian death after protesters burned a health facility in Bafwabango Village, Ituri Province,” said OCHA.

As of Tuesday (30/6), local authorities reported 1,406 confirmed Ebola cases across Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces. Three confirmed cases linked to Ituri have also been identified in the neighbouring provinces of Haut-Uele and Tshopo, raising concerns regarding the further spread of the outbreak.

UN Senior Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, on Wednesday (1/7) to officially begin his duties, working closely with national authorities, the World Health Organization (WHO), and UN partners, according to OCHA.

Harneis will assist in supporting the scale-up of containment efforts, strengthening coordination, addressing operational challenges, and helping to ensure that aid reaches the communities in need as quickly as possible.