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The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has denounced an attack on an Ebola treatment center in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a visit to the establishment, just hours after the raid that killed a policeman and injured a health worker.
During a tour the Saturday of the Center, located in Butembo in the province of North Kivu, The Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the violence in the region undermined the first progress made by the authorities in the fight against the deadly disease epidemic.
"The attacks on the Ebola treatment center is not by the community, it is attacks on the community ", Tedros says in a tweet.
"We have no choice but to continue to serve the population of the world, which is one of the most vulnerable in the world," he added.
"It breaks my heart to think about the life we lost in this attack of #Ebola treatment center, while we continue to cry those who died in previous attacks, while defending the right to health "- @DrTedros from Butembo, #DRC pic.twitter.com/XAMJ8Wr7B1
– World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 9, 2019
Butembo's facilities reopened last week after an attack by gunmen last Wednesday forced its closure.
Butembo Mayor Sylvain Kanyamanda told the AFP news agency that Saturday's raid began with shooting at around 6am (0400 GMT) and resumed 30 minutes later "with resistance from the crowd. army and police ". The health worker who was touched was treated at the hospital.
"The army and the police have caught one of the attackers" Kanyamanda stated that he was a member of the Mai-Mai rebel group.
It was the third attack on the center, added the mayor, calling the attackers "terrorists" who wanted to "kill the sick".
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"Toxic" atmosphere
Ebola, a deadly viral disease, has been reported in North Kivu last August before spreading to the neighboring province of Ituri. Both provinces are plagued by violence and inter-community unrest.
According to the latest figures from the ministry, the most serious epidemic of Ebola in the DRC has killed nearly 600 people.
Efforts to contain the epidemic, the tenths identified in the country, have been hampered by inadequate security in the highly volatile region, where many militias are active.
The health centers were attacked several times in the seven months following the start of the outbreak.
On Thursday, a leading medical organization in the medical sector warned that efforts to fight the epidemic were failing, accusing the DRC authorities of not stopping it. reason for an overly militarized response that alienated patients and their families and contributed to the creation of a "toxic" atmosphere.
Doctors Without Borders, also known by the French acronym MSF, pointed out that more than 40% of deaths occurred in communities rather than in Ebola treatment centers.
The charity claimed that the security forces had resorted to "coercion" while ensuring safe burials, monitoring contacts and assisting in the admission of patients to treatment centers. treatment.
But Jessica Ilunga, a spokeswoman for the DRC's health ministry, rejected MSF's claims, calling them "exaggerated of the situation" and said that there was a "misunderstanding "on the role of security forces in the management of the epidemic.
"The police and the army are not involved in Ebola response activities and their role has never been to enforce sanitary measures," Ilunga said.
"Unlike international agents, local health workers do not have the privilege of being evacuated when security conditions deteriorate, so it is necessary to enhance security to enable smooth response operations." she added.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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