Ebola breaks out in Congo conflict zone

Aug 03, 2018

According to a press release from the Norwegian Refugee Council in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ministry of Health confirmed four cases of Ebola.

PIC: This is the tenth outbreak the country has had in over 42 years. (File photo)

EBOLA


KINSHASA - Ebola has broken out in the Democratic Republic of the Cong's conflict zone North Kivu.


According to a press release from the Norwegian Refugee Council in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ministry of Health confirmed four cases of Ebola, near North Kivu's third largest city, Beni.

This is the tenth Ebola outbreak the country has faced in 42 years, and the second declared in 2018.

A week ago, the government had declared the end of ebola in the country.


"This week's declaration of a new Ebola outbreak in North Kivu couldn't have hit at a worse time or place," warned Dr. Ulrika Blom, Country Director for Norwegian Refugee Council in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"It's a lamentable setback in the overall humanitarian response, and will compound the massive challenges we already face helping the millions of people in crisis across the country."

"Many people who fled to Beni for safety are struggling to find food," said Blom. "Many are farmers who cannot access their fields, for fear they will be attacked by armed groups lurking outside the city limits.

"This is the reality people are faced with before the Ebola outbreak."

Resource-rich North Kivu has long been the epicentre of violent armed clashes and intercommunal conflict.

It has consistently had the highest levels of internal displacement in the country.

The northeastern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri have recently seen some of the worst fighting in years, causing nearly 750,000 people to flee their homes in the first eight months of this year alone.

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