25th September, 2018
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is suspending parts of its effort to fight Ebola in Congo after a string of attacks by militants, the UN agency said on Tuesday.
WHO’s Emergency Response Chief and Australian epidemiologist, Peter Salama, told a news conference in Geneva that Ebola had claimed 100 lives since the deadly virus outbreak nearly two months ago in North Kivu.
After 21 people died in an attack by the Allied Democratic Forces rebels in the city of Beni on Saturday, community groups called for days of mourning and protests that are expected to last at least until Friday.
According to him, WHO staff are confined to hotels and their operating centre in Beni for security reasons and their ability to track potential new infections has fallen sharply.
“We are now extremely concerned that several factors may be coming together in the next weeks or months to create a potentially perfect storm.
“In addition to the security risk, a minority of the local population is deeply mistrustful of government and UN health workers, while some potentially infected people have fled treatment.
“Politicians in the region are also stoking the mistrust ahead of upcoming elections in December,’’ the Australian epidemiologist added.
As a result, the outbreak has spread over a wider region including an area bordering Uganda.
“The possibility of a cross-border-spread of Ebola has increased and Uganda is facing an imminent threat,’’ Salama added.