DR CONGO:‘NO TIME TO LOSE’ SAYS NEWLY APPOINTED UN EBOLA RESPONSE COORDINATOR

Posted by ALPHA88 CHARITY | Jan 10, 2019

With the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s worst ever Ebola outbreak now in its tenth month, the United Nations on Thursday announced measures to strengthen its response, with the Organization’s newly appointed Emergency Coordinator (EERC) declaring there is “no time to lose”.

Amidst a surge in new cases, the epidemic has claimed more than 1,200 lives and threatens to spread to other provinces in the east, as well as neighbouring countries. A third of those infected have been children; a higher proportion than during previous outbreaks.

Up to the middle of this month, the number of cases, according to UN figures, stood at 1,847 (1,759 confirmed and 88 probable). In total, there have been 1,223 deaths (1,135 confirmed and 88 probable) and 487 people have survived the deadly virus.

“The Ebola response is working in an operating environment of unprecedented complexity for a public health emergency—insecurity and political protests have led to periodic disruptions in our efforts to fight the disease,” said EERC David Gressly, who also serves as the deputy chief of the UN Stabilization Mission for the DRC, MONUSCO.

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