© UNICEF/K.-N. Mbikayi The outbreak has become the fastest growing in modern history. Famine in DR Congo complicates the fight against Ebola outbreak Healthcare
The UN World Food Program (WFP) has called on the international community to immediately provide additional funding to combat the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to the agency, the rapidly growing scale of hunger is significantly complicating efforts to contain the disease, which has already infected more than 3,200 people.
The acting head of the WFP, Karl Skau, emphasized that the success of the fight against the virus directly depends not only on medical measures, but also on providing the population with food.
“Ebola is fueled by [aid] delays, fear and hunger. Ending this outbreak requires a collaborative effort and the active involvement of local communities,” he said.
The outbreak was officially declared on May 15 in eastern DR Congo and has become the fastest growing outbreak in modern history. The disease is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, which is characterized by severe internal and external bleeding and a case fatality rate of about 40 percent.
The current outbreak is the largest Bundibugyo virus outbreak ever recorded, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The disease has spread to five eastern provinces of the country: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo and Haut-Uélé.
Doctors are especially concerned about the situation in the province of Ituri, where the epicenter of the outbreak is located. The region remains one of the country’s worst food crises. About 1.9 million people here face critical levels of food insecurity.
In virus-affected areas, more than 2.65 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity and more than 628,000 are in emergency conditions, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
WFP emphasizes that food assistance has become an essential element of anti-epidemic measures. According to Karl Skau, feeding people helps families stay home longer, helps keep sick people and their contacts safely isolated, strengthens public confidence in humanitarian services and allows medical teams to do their jobs effectively.
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The international response to the outbreak is being coordinated by the authorities of the DR Congo with the support of WFP, WHO and UNICEF. Humanitarian actors are providing both medical and logistical support to the hardest-hit areas.
Since the outbreak began, the UN Humanitarian Air Service, operated by WFP, has operated 495 flights, transported 3,395 aid workers and delivered 56 tons of life-saving supplies to areas on the front lines of the disease, including the recently affected provinces of Haut-Uélé and Chopo.
At the same time, WFP provided more than 160,000 hot meals to patients, those under observation, and health and humanitarian workers in 17 treatment and isolation centers. In addition, about 23 thousand people in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri received food parcels, including 14 thousand residents under quarantine.
Despite efforts, humanitarian organizations warn of serious difficulties. The main obstacles remain the lack of funding and the need to quickly scale up assistance. Each delay, according to WFP, provides an additional opportunity for the virus to spread, and gaps in logistics, food supply and support for local communities reduce the effectiveness of efforts to contain the outbreak. These factors complicate surveillance, delivery of supplies, and expansion of humanitarian operations.
$293.6 million is required to continue WFP operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the next six months. These funds are needed to fund emergency logistics, food aid and community support in Ituri province and other areas affected by the Ebola outbreak.