Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned that hundreds of millions of dollars intended to tackle Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo are not reaching the intended recipients. In a report, the medical charity said the outbreak remains “out of control”, with frontline workers going unpaid, lacking proper training and facing shortages of essential supplies; in some cases, ambulances had run out of fuel. MSF urged the Congolese government and UN agencies to strengthen oversight and accountability so that money already disbursed is used effectively.
Key Takeaways: More than 5,400 people have died and 11,000 have been infected since the outbreak was declared in May, making it the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record. Africa CDC has said $700m of $962m disbursed to implementing organisations is unaccounted for; its chief, Jean Kaseya, described the issue as a major transparency and financial reporting failure rather than immediately calling it embezzlement. MSF says responders must be properly trained, paid, equipped and supported, with resources directed to the areas of greatest need.
The outbreak is centred in eastern DR Congo, a region scarred by decades of conflict and where some affected areas are under rebel control. Poor roads make movement extremely difficult for medical teams and surveillance workers. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species of the virus, has spread beyond DR Congo, with cases reported in Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria; on Wednesday, the last person infected with Ebola in Kenya was discharged, according to the article.
MSF said: “Despite the vast amounts of money provided for the response, many frontline responders are left trying to contain the outbreak with empty hands and empty pockets.” MSF president Javid Abdelmoneim said teams are often left “speechless” by the dysfunctions they witness, adding that six months into the response the situation is “simply unacceptable”. Contact tracing remains deeply problematic, with two-thirds of deaths occurring in communities rather than treatment centres; British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson was cited by Reuters as saying more than half of cases are going undetected, meaning the outbreak is likely to last another year.
MSF also raised concerns over the “excessive concentration” of efforts in some areas at the expense of others where needs are more urgent. It said the response was “too slow” in North Kivu province, while Haut-Uélé remained “dramatically overlooked”; in both provinces, health facilities lacked essentials such as water, chlorine and triage systems, turning some facilities into new centres of transmission rather than places of care. The BBC said it had asked the Congolese government for comment; no official response was immediately cited.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk