Funding essential to end Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo as outbreak marks six months

As of 11th November, more than 5,433 people have died with over 11,000 confirmed cases in the last six months. Nearly half of all people who contract the disease will die from it. It is already the second most deadly Ebola outbreak ever recorded.

While the rate of infections has slowed down in the original epicentre of the outbreak, Ituri province, cases are increasing rapidly in other areas. In neighbouring North Kivu province, 50% of new cases in recent weeks are in one town alone (Beni) where Concern works. 

“Much of the Ebola response has so far concentrated on the core epicentre of this outbreak and has been very medically focused. As numbers increase massively outside of the epicentre, we need a broader and more holistic response in these areas to stop Ebola from continuing to spread. The current funding to do this is insufficient and will run out in the next three months,” said David Jones, country director for Concern in DRC.

“The response hasn't adapted to where Ebola has spread more widely. Alongside medical interventions, communities need the resources that allow them to protect themselves from Ebola, such as understanding the symptoms and how to stop the spread, having access to clean water and soap to do so. Timely funding allowing organisations like Concern to do this is critical for successfully limiting the spread of the virus.”

The world’s largest Ebola outbreak in West Africa from 2014 to 2016, saw 9,792 deaths in the first year of the outbreak. This outbreak in DRC looks set to surpass this, based on the current trajectory of the virus. It is the fastest growing Ebola outbreak in history.

Concern has been working for years in the main areas where the outbreak is accelerating the most and is continuing and expanding its work, building on its Ebola prevention and preparedness activities that it has already been implementing over the last six months.  

It has reached over 100,000 people with Ebola awareness and has provided public handwashing stations, hygiene and sanitation kits as well as rehabilitating water sources. As the virus is spread through bodily fluids, these supports are essential in preventing people from becoming infected.

Ebola is just one of the many challenges people in DRC are facing.  Multiple conflicts in the east of the country - where the outbreak is most severe - has displaced nearly seven million people to date, while households lack the essential water and income to meet their basic needs. 

Concern has maintained its programmes, serving communities impacted by these ongoing crises, as well as responding to the outbreak, providing livelihoods, protection, water and sanitation support. This is alongside cash distributions to people forced from their homes due to fighting, so they can feed their families and replace essentials they had to leave behind when fleeing their homes.

Pressure remains high on health staff who, alongside the personal health risks of treating patients with Ebola, are the targets of attacks due to mistrust and false rumours among some of the public around the origins of the disease and the treatment of those who get it.

This mistrust has led to a reluctance in seeking treatment for suspected Ebola cases which is impacting its containment. Many of the people dying from Ebola are not in official health settings but in their homes, which impacts contact tracing to further limit the spread.

“People trust Concern because we’ve been in communities prior to the current Ebola outbreak, supporting them over the years through other crises. But we can’t tell people to wash their hands and not provide the equipment or water to do so or tell them to avoid crowded areas that directly affect their ability to earn an income, without providing an alternative. This is why long-term, adequate funding that encompasses the different challenges people are facing is essential,” add Mr Jones.

Concern has been working in DRC since 1994. Part of its work has been to address the country’s decades-long humanitarian crisis, particularly in the east, through providing support for livelihoods, nutrition, gender equality, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).

For further information contact Eilis Staunton, Media Relations Officer, Concern Worldwide, at eilis.staunton@concern.net or +353 85 872 0720.