DR Congo: "The Ebola virus is spreading faster and many people are no longer seeking care"

Nairobi / Geneva, April 11, 2019 –The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimates that the deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is worsening as confidence in the response effort weakening.

This warning follows the confirmation of 18 new Ebola cases on Tuesday (9 April) – the highest figure in a day in the outbreak that has raged for eight months. The DRC Ministry of Health also announced that 10 people who died of Ebola died Tuesday, eight of whom died in their communities without seeking treatment or support.

"It's a very painful development, " said Emanuele Capobianco, director of health and care of the IFRC. "The bottom line is that the Ebola virus is spreading faster now and many people are no longer seeking care. It is clear that some vulnerable communities do not trust Ebola responders. "

Redoubling efforts to engage with these communities is essential, according to Capobianco.

"Trust can be established by going from community to community, working with local leaders and villagers, listening to their empathic concerns and integrating their comments and preferences into the way we work," he said.

In-depth community engagement is at the heart of the Red Cross operations in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in eastern DRC, where more than 700 Red Cross volunteers work. from communities affected by the Ebola virus. They provided more than one million people with information tailored to the local situation and collected over 130,000 "feedback" comments from the community.

"Our research and our experience show that when a deep community engagement takes place, the acceptance of outside help will improve dramatically.Capobianco said.

For example, the intense mobilization and engagement of communities in and around Butembo town has had a direct and significant impact on the willingness of communities to host and, in some cases, to ask Red Cross teams to bury their dignity and dignity. The safe burial of people who have died of Ebola is an essential intervention in preventing the spread of the disease because the corpses are particularly contagious.

The efforts of the Red Cross and other stakeholders are also hampered by a significant funding gap. Last month, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – the IFRC and the International Committee of the Red Cross – issued a revised emergency appeal in the amount of 31.5 million Swiss francs to support DRC response activities and preparedness activities in neighboring countries. Up to now, only 11.1 million Swiss francs have been received.