Democratic Republic of Congo News

In the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak, in the city of Beni in North Kivu, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Democratic of the Republic of the Congo’s Health Ministry adopted a strategy once used during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to simplify vital work of monitoring contacts of patients.

The last Ebola patient in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was discharged today from a treatment centre in the north-eastern town of Beni. With no more confirmed cases, a 42-day countdown to declaring the end of the world’s second-deadliest Ebola epidemic began on 2 March.

“In some places they threw stones at us, but in others community leaders became engaged and fought alongside us for the survival of their people,” says Dr Freddy Banza, an epidemiologist and public health specialist with World Health Organization (WHO).

Alloya, a town serving a gold mining district in North Kivu is a town that understands trade and business. It is also a town with deep mistrust of Ebola responders. All too often, the belief that the Ebola response is about ‘business’ rather than saving lives, has taken hold.

In late June, cases of Ebola began to reappear in Alloya, following reintroduction of the virus by an infected person who avoided surveillance and travelled to the area from the then epicentre, Butembo.

The call centre offers a service that supports the efficiency of the Ebola preparedness in and around the city.

Dario Gramuglia is a Logistics Consultant supporting Ebola Treatment Centres in Butembo