DRC Ebola: 'speed, money and compassion' lessons from survivors and experts
A BBC Africa report compiles testimony from six survivors and four experts who lived through the 2018-2020 DRC Ebola outbreak, drawing out the critical importance of a 'speed, money and compassion' three-part strategy for the current Ituri Province outbreak. The current outbreak has reached 645 cases and 165 deaths, and WHO Africa Regional Director Matshidiso Moeti has flagged a 14-day critical response window.
In a special BBC Africa report compiled by correspondent Mercy Juma, six survivors and four epidemiology experts who lived through the 2018-2020 DRC Ebola outbreak shared the critical importance of a 'speed, money and compassion' three-part response strategy for the current Ituri Province outbreak. Eyenga Kambale, 38, a survivor now working as a community-education coordinator in Beni, said 'If contact tracing doesn't begin within the first 48 hours, case numbers grow exponentially. In 2018 that cost us a 21-day mourning period.'
World Health Organization (WHO) Africa Regional Director Matshidiso Moeti said in Monday's Brazzaville briefing that the current outbreak has reached 645 cases and 165 deaths (a case-fatality rate of 25.6%) and that the next 14 days are 'critical to the success of the response.' WHO has issued an emergency funding appeal of $285 million; current pledges stand at $108 million. The EU announced an additional €65 million contribution, and the new US administration's acting Health Secretary Hartman said the situation 'is under review.'
Professor Yap Boum, Dean of the University of Beni Medical Faculty, said 'The Ervebo vaccine has partial matching to the Bundibugyo strain rather than the current Zaire strain. A fully-matched new vaccine could be ready in 9-12 months.' Contact tracing and vaccination access remain limited in M23-controlled areas of eastern DRC; UN OCHA Operations Coordinator Edem Wosornu reported that a Bunia-Goma Lake Tanganyika humanitarian corridor project is being evaluated with the Congolese government and Rwandan authorities. The East African Community (EAC) health ministers' emergency meeting is scheduled for 28 May in Arusha. This article is not medical advice; please consult qualified health authorities.
More from Africa
DR Congo will not change World Cup preparations despite US Ebola warning
DR Congo Football Federation (FECOFA) Secretary-General Belge Ndaye said the team's World Cup preparations will continue as scheduled despite a US State Department advisory recommending 'rigorous health screening' for the DRC national squad. The team plays Mali in Doha on 28 May and Belgium in Marseille on 1 June; the FIFA medical advisory board has approved the preparation plan.
DRC health minister warns 'very high' Ebola lethality rate as toll hits 80
The health minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo warned that the lethality rate of an Ebola outbreak in the country's east is exceptionally high. The official death toll has reached 80, and local authorities flag a shortage of treatment-centre capacity.
Mali junta leader names himself defence minister after predecessor killed
Mali's military junta leader has assumed the role of defence minister after his predecessor, Sadio Camara, was killed in a major offensive by combined jihadist and separatist forces.