WHO chief arrives in DRC promising Ebola outbreak ‘can be stopped’ | Ebola
The deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo can be stopped, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said upon his arrival in Kinsasha.
Tedros landed in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday evening and was due to travel to the northeastern province of Ituri, where the outbreak is concentrated, on Friday.
“This thing can be stopped,” Tedros said, adding that the WHO does not support travel bans to fight the epidemic “because they don’t do much good.”
“Together we will get through this pandemic,” he previously said, promising to “do everything I can to help you.”
WHO recorded 10 confirmed and 223 suspected Ebola deaths among more than 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the outbreak was declared on 15 May, according to the latest figures up to 24 May.
The World Health Organization has warned that the actual spread of the virus is likely much wider, as it is thought to have been circulating under the radar for some time.
This is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the large Central African country with a population of more than 100 million.
Complicating medical aid efforts, the outbreak is centered in a mineral-rich region where armed groups are fighting. “Conflict and displacement make everything difficult,” Tedros said. “I make a direct appeal to all parties fighting in this region: Please declare a ceasefire.
“No lawsuit, no conflict, no complaint is worth condemning innocent people to death from a preventable disease.”
There is no vaccine or treatment yet available against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola that is causing the current outbreak. Advisory groups are recommending clinical trials for vaccines and treatments, the WHO said on Thursday.
The vaccine should be ready by the end of the year, African Union health agency chief Jean Kaseya said on Thursday.
Neighboring Uganda, which has recorded one death and six additional cases of Ebola, announced that it is closing its borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo with immediate effect.
The US has said it will not allow entry to anyone infected and is working to open a treatment facility in Kenya for affected US citizens. A Kenyan human rights group petitioned the court to limit operations at any such facility; Health officials warned that this could burden Kenya’s struggling health system.
Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years. The deadliest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo killed nearly 2,300 people from 3,500 cases between 2018 and 2020.
While WHO stated that it received 4.6 tons of aid from the airport in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, the UN children’s organization Unicef announced that it would send 100 tons of aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
With Agence France-Presse
