“An emergency full of emergencies”

Oxfam teams are visiting areas close to the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to collect data and assess what support is needed.

It follows the announcement earlier in the week by The World Health Organization which declared a public health emergency of international concern in DRC.

Arlette Bashizi/Oxfam

Lumbumba shows her young children how to use new hand washing kit, Democratic Republic of Congo

The current outbreak is centred in DRC’s Eastern Ituri province where there have been 600 suspected cases and at least 139 deaths reported.

The area is affected by armed conflict which has accelerated the breakdown of the health system, leaving millions of people exposed to disease.

The armed conflict is also making access very challenging.

“

The country is in conflict, and capacity is so reduced in terms of responding to such disasters, like outbreaks. For us as humanitarians, it's also really challenging negotiating access with some of the armed groups, for example, the ADF Nalu, which has been contributing to massacres of people in those villages. It's difficult to access. We're putting our lives at risk as well.”

Dr Manenji Mangundu, Oxfam’s Country Director in DRC told Sky News

Dr Mangundu also explained how health centres are understaffed and some of them have been completely destroyed in the conflict. He described the challenge of getting the surveillance system working properly which would help to prevent further spread of the disease.

“

Reduced funding has impacted the country’s capacity to respond to outbreaks. When the funding was reduced, we shrank a lot, and this has put people at risk not only for Ebola but also cholera and mpox. It’s an emergency full of emergencies.”

Dr Manenji Mangundu, Oxfam’s Country Director in DRC

Oxfam is sending a team of experts to the affected areas, and together with our partners, we are assessing the situation and starting to respond – but urgent funding is required to scale up our work.

Please donate to the DRC Crisis Appeal to help us provide urgent humanitarian assistance.

DRC Crisis Appeal

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