There has been an Ebola outbreak in Dr Congo - WHO AND UNHCR Issue new discovery

Reports have it that the deadly Ebola disease currently plaguing
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has
continued to spread out, it has been revealed.

An Ebola camp
According to a report by the News Agency of
Nigeria, NAN, UN agencies have warned that
the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) has spread to
eastern ‘no-go’ zone surrounded by rebels.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), warned that rebel
violence in eastern DRC was escalating inside
the vast country’s Ebola-hit North Kivu
province, putting millions at risk.

“Thousands of civilians have fled their burned-
out villages, bringing reports of brutal
attacks,’’ Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson for
UNHCR, said in Geneva.

The latest report followed reports that a case
of Ebola infection and one suspected case
have been found in one town in the area,
Oicha, which is surrounded by armed groups.
The disease has killed more than 60 people
and infected dozens more in recent weeks.

Forced displacement in this part of the
country remains massive and it is estimated
that more than a million people are
displaced in North Kivu.

This is the highest concentration of internally
displaced people (IDPs) in the DRC, where an
estimated half a million people have been
forced from their homes this year alone.

Also, Dr Peter Salama, WHO Deputy Director-
General of Emergency Preparedness and
Response, said the discovery of Ebola
infection in the hard-to-reach part of eastern
DRC could mark a “pivotal” point in the
response to the deadly disease.

“It really was the problem we were anticipating
and the problem … we were dreading.

“Our teams have responded this week. They’ve
had to reach Oicha with armed escorts.
“Once they reach Oicha, they are able to move
within Oicha town more freely, because the town
itself is a yellow zone from a security
perspective,’’ Salama explained.

Mahecic said UNHCR was particularly worried
about the deteriorating situation in the
Ebola-hit northern territory of Ben, where
Oicha town is located.
The area is home to some 1.3 million people
and spiralling conflict has left the population
living there, virtually in a state of siege since
October 2017.

Reports of increased human rights violations
and restrictions of humanitarian access are
also frequent.
Estimates are that more than 100 armed
groups are active in the province, continually
terrorising the population.

In spite of a large-scale military offensive of
the Congolese Army against one of the main
rebel groups, the Allied Democratic Forces
(ADF) since January, there has been no let-
up in the violence.

Mahecic said: “Despite security challenges, a
UNHCR team accessed the area north of Beni,
earlier this month, and conducted humanitarian
assessments in Oicha and Eringeti districts.
“Residents told our staff about brutal attacks
against the civilians carried out with machetes.
“Stories of massacres, extortion, forced
displacement and other human rights violations
are frequent’’.

Further, sexual and gender-based violence is
rampant across the Beni territory while many
children are being recruited as child soldiers.
The violence is particularly rampant in the
so-called “triangle of death,” between the
towns of Eringeti, Mbau and Kamango, on
the Uganda-DRC border, as well as in the
towns of Beni, Oicha and Mavivi.
UNHCR said it was scaling up its capacity in
North Kivu to respond to the growing
humanitarian needs.

“We are arranging additional emergency shelters
and other humanitarian assistance to meet the
needs of the displaced in Beni.
“While UNHCR’s humanitarian response is
continuing, despite the outbreak of Ebola, the
prevailing security situation and drastic funding
shortfall severely hamper our efforts.
“UNHCR’s DRC 2018 appeal totalling $201
million is only 17 per cent funded,’ ’ Mahecic
explained.