OCHA warns that the Ebola outbreak continues to expand in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with national authorities recording more than 5,200 confirmed cases and nearly 2,500 deaths as of 18 August.
The Senior Ebola Coordinator, Julien Harneis, said that the Government and partners are scaling up the response, with five operational priorities: tripling safe care capacity, strengthening community engagement, doubling the number of safe and dignified burial teams, expanding disease surveillance, and increasing support to the most vulnerable.
As part of this broader effort, this morning, the Government launched the “Congo River Without Ebola” initiative, with support from the UN and its partners.
This initiative aims to strengthen disease surveillance and preparedness along the Congo River, a major route stretching over 1,700 kilometres that connects communities, markets and several provinces.
With funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the World Food Programme and their partners will support the initiative alongside national authorities. Together, they will strengthen disease surveillance at priority ports and transit points, improving early warning and referral systems, and reinforce preparedness among riverine communities and people travelling by boat.
Today, WHO announced that 70,000 doses of the Ebola Zaire vaccine have been allocated to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The doses will support front-line health workers and a clinical trial to assess the vaccine’s potential against the Bundibugyo virus.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
