Ebola Outbreak in Congo Faces Funding and Access Challenges
BULAPE, Democratic Republic of Congo – A recent ebola outbreak in southern congo โคis being hampered by limitedโ access and funding shortages, raising concerns among health officials asโ confirmed cases rapidly increase, โthe World Health Organizationโฃ (WHO) and the โAfrica Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africaโค CDC) reported Thursday.
The outbreak, declared earlierโ this month, has seen confirmed cases jump โfrom 28 to 68,โ with 16โ deaths reported asโ of Thursday, according to the Africa CDC.A key worryโข for responders is the potential for spread; โคthe most โrecent confirmed case was โขlocated 70 kilometers (43โค miles) fromโฃ the current epicenter, โwithin the โขsame province. Expanding the responseโข toโ additional health zones โwould โขbe “resource-intensive,” warned Africa CDC’s โคJohn Nkengasong during a โฃpress briefing.
The WHO estimates the cost of respondingโ to the outbreak over theโฃ next three months at $20 million, while Congo’s nationalโฃ response plan requires $78 million. These financialโฃ needs are notably pressing given recent cuts to U.S.โฃ funding forโข global health initiatives.โ Theโฃ U.S. previously played a important role in containing past Ebola outbreaks in the country, including providing up to $11.5โ million through USAIDโฃ in 2021 to support broader African efforts.
Health workers โฃare being prioritized for vaccination, as at least fourโข confirmed cases are among โmedical โpersonnel. “Given theโข number of โcases and deaths among health โcare providers, protecting these frontโฃ line workersโฃ is essential to ensure the population โreceives adequate care,” stated Mathiasโ Mossoko, Congo’s Ebola response coordinator in Bulape.
contact tracing effortsโข have identifiedโ over 600 individuals, with only one confirmed infection among them so far, suggesting the โoutbreak is currently contained within the province.โ Officials have not yet declared a public health โemergency.
Medical โขcharity Doctors Without Borders isโค providing support, including establishing an โEbola treatment โขcenter at the Bulape hospital and reinforcing triage protocols. The organization isโฃ also supplying โคessential โmedicines, personal protective equipment, and โขconducting training in infection prevention and control.
