© UNFPA/J. Mayindu A midwife in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo holds a newborn born amid the Ebola outbreak. UN steps up efforts to combat Ebola outbreak in DR Congo Healthcare
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is spreading faster than ever before. According to World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts, it could become the deadliest in the history of the fight against the disease: throughout the country, one person dies from it every 30 minutes. Deputy Secretary General and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom warned about this on Friday Fletcher.
Today Fletcher chaired an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), which includes the heads of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations. They agreed to dramatically increase the scale of joint action.
“We cannot allow the virus to overtake our response,” the UN representative emphasized.
Additional $30.5 million
According to Fletcher, some progress has been made since the beginning of June: agencies are working on the ground, and the UN has sent a Senior Countermeasures Coordinator to the region. Ebola. International donors have pledged nearly $300 million to fight the outbreak.
On Friday, the UN deputy humanitarian chief ordered the release of another $30.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund – in addition to the $24 million previously sent to the DRC and four neighboring countries to combat the outbreak. Fletcher also sent 20 more employees to the affected region.
“We need to double the number of teams providing safe and dignified burials, triple the resources of treatment centers, improve contact tracing and bring in more experienced leaders,” he said. It is also critical to meet the region’s enormous needs for clean water and sanitation, medical care and other basic services.
“More than 2,000 people have already died. Many others are at risk. It’s time for the world to wake up and respond,” concluded the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.
The outbreak has spread to the sixth province
As the UN press service reported today, almost three months after the virus began spreading Bundibugyo outbreak has already been recorded in six provinces of the DRC. According to national authorities as of August 12, there have been over 4,660 confirmed cases and 2,184 deaths. The case fatality rate is nearly 47 percent.
As the outbreak spreads, UN humanitarian agencies are expanding their operations. Starting tomorrow, the World Food Program (WFP) will distribute hot meals at additional Ebola treatment centers.
This assistance is especially important as 2.6 million people in Ebola-affected areas in eastern DRC face acute food shortages. More than half of these families live in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak. However, only 25 percent of the required funding was provided for food assistance.