Democratic Republic of Congo – Ebola Outbreak (DG ECHO, UN, National Authorities, INGOs) (ECHO Daily Flash of 14 February 2019)

With 816 reported cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD), the ongoing epidemic is the largest ever in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the second largest worldwide, with 513 deaths, 274 patients recovered, nearly 8,000 contacts of EVD cases under surveillance, almost 78 000 people vaccinated and 18 health zones affected in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

The outbreak is not yet under control. The number of new infections keeps rising, the viral circulation in local communities is persistent. The response faces many challenges that need to be tackled urgently: sub-optimal infection prevention and control practices in health centres, incomplete tracing of contacts of Ebola cases, some delays in detection and isolation of new cases and deaths in the communities leading to exposure of relatives to the virus. The building of trust of local communities is of utmost importance so that they subscribe to the Ebola response.

A new Strategic Response Plan has been presented by the DRC Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation (WHO) for the period February to July 2019. Financial requirements amount to USD 148 million.