By Ariana Orozco | Project Assistant
On June 1, 2020, hopes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) being declared Ebola-free were shattered once again.
Just three weeks before the 10th outbreak in the northeast was declared over and the entire DRC could be declared Ebola-free, a new outbreak was identified. The Congolese National Institute of Biomedical Research confirmed a cluster of deaths in Mbandaka, a city in northwestern DRC’s Equateur province, was the result of this new Ebola outbreak – the 11th in the DRC. As of July 16, the number of cases had risen to 56, including 53 confirmed and three suspected, with 21 deaths.
International Medical Corps deployed a Rapid Response Team to Mbandaka. Our team has been aiding communities since June 2 – just 24 hours after the government announced the new outbreak. We are providing case management services, the only partner to do so in the entire province. Our 20-bed Ebola Treatment Center serves Wangata and Mbandaka, two of the five affected health zones.
A quick end to this new outbreak may prove difficult. Challenges such as lack of access to healthcare, community resistance and few partners on the ground supporting the response explain why cases are rising exponentially. But the timing also poses a unique challenge.
Paula Olson, Response Manager for West, Central, Southern Africa at International Medical Corps, explains that, “This new outbreak in the northwestern part of the country comes at a time of tremendous concern over the spread of COVID-19 and its potential impact on the country from a public health perspective as well as economically.”
The DRC is simultaneously struggling to slow the spread of COVID-19. According to Olson, “The DRC has been highly susceptible to the spread of communicable diseases over the past year due to gaps within the health system. It is therefore important for our teams not only to address the most urgent needs, but also to help prevent future outbreaks.”
One way to mitigate the impact of future outbreaks is through training. In the wake of the 2018 Equateur province Ebola outbreak, International Medical Corps provided critical infection prevention and control training to 516 health in six health zones—Bikoro, Ikobo, Wangata, Mbandaka, Ntondo and Bolenge. The new outbreak currently impacts four of these same health zones but thanks to our training, the health staff are better equipped today than they were in 2018 to protect themselves from Ebola transmission and keep their facilities safe.
International Medical Corps thanks the GlobalGiving community for its critical support as we respond to the DRC’s newest Ebola outbreak.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
