The military governor of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province, the epicenter of the current Ebola outbreak, has likened the struggle to contain the virus to a 'war' for which resources are lacking.
'People in affected areas are not receiving enough food,' Johnny Luboya Nkashama told French broadcaster RFI, adding that 'other diseases' and 'overcrowding' are also issues.
He called for a 'swift response,' including strengthening staff capacity to prevent Ituri 'from descending into catastrophe.'
Officials report over 900 suspected Ebola cases and 223 suspected deaths since the outbreak was declared on May 15.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the disease may be spreading faster than initially thought and has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
On Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is due to travel to DR Congo, stated that the Ebola outbreak is outpacing urgent efforts to scale up a response, with responders 'playing catch-up.'
Ebola has also been reported in DR Congo's North and South Kivu provinces, as well as in neighboring Uganda, where seven confirmed cases have been recorded.
Elaborating on his province's needs, Nkashama explained that 'qualified personnel' should be deployed as soon as possible and 'secure treatment centers' established. Angry relatives trying to claim bodies of loved ones who reportedly died of Ebola have targeted two treatment centers.
'Our existing resources were dedicated to the war, and this second war that is now upon us demands even more,' he said on RFI.
Ituri has been under military rule since 2021, when civilian authority was replaced by a military general in an attempt to neutralize dozens of armed groups operating in the area, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), affiliated with the Islamic State group.
'And lastly, we need to mobilize financial resources – they must be made available,' the governor said. 'The more time we lose, the closer we come to disaster.'
On Saturday, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) met with health ministers from DR Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan to finalize cross-border coordination in response to the outbreak.
Africa CDC Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya said they also agreed on a $319 million budget to stop the outbreak from spreading. He told the BBC that 10% of the funds had been secured from affected countries.
On the same day, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged an initial $5 million to support the plan. Kaseya added that African businessmen will meet later this week to raise additional funds, while international partners are also committing funds.
Africa CDC has warned that other countries on the continent – namely Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia – are at risk from an outbreak.
This outbreak is the 17th in DR Congo since Ebola was discovered in 1976. It is only the third worldwide of the rare Bundibugyo species, which has not been seen in over a decade. There are currently no vaccines or medications targeting Bundibugyo, but vaccines are in development. Last week, the WHO said it could take up to nine months for a vaccine to be ready.
Source: www.bbc.com