DRC launches billion dollar Ebola response plan

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government has launched a new, 180-day emergency response plan to curb the Ebola epidemic that will cost an estimated 1.3 billion US dollars, reports RFI on September 5th. 

The programme aims to halt transmissions and decrease Ebola-linked deaths through increased public health surveillance, allowing for a swifter detection of new cases followed by comprehensive contact tracing. 

The DRC’s Ebola epidemic has already caused 3,072 deaths out of 6,342 recorded cases, with the Bundibugyo strain affecting 60 health zones in six provinces. This strain currently has limited treatment options and no approved vaccine.

The outbreak, classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a global health emergency, remains a serious public health issue that has left frontline workers and surveillance teams challenged due to limited supplies, difficult terrain and poor infrastructure. 

The plan, launched yesterday in Kinshasa, seeks to bring interventions closer to affected populations by prioritizing access to care and strengthening healthcare structures. Improved, wider communications with communities will aid in quashing rumours, explain prevention measures and encourage quicker flagging of suspected cases. 

Currently, suspected cases are isolated and treated at centres like the recently-opened Rwankole Ebola Treatment Centre in the northeastern Ituri province, which is recognised as one of the worst-hit areas. With 100 beds, this is the largest Ebola facility in the DRC.

In August, WHO appealed for increased international support for the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak, which it warned was placing unsustainable pressure on an already struggling healthcare system. 

The African Union’s Directorate of Health and Humanitarian Affairs reported that the cost of treating the virus in the DRC and Uganda and preventing its spread into other African countries will reach more than 300 million USD.  

Jeremy Konyndyk, the former director of USAID, told RFI in May that the defunding of the organisation is a hazard which leads to later detection of viruses. USAID previously invested 1 billion USD to fight the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

RFI, Maghrebi.org