Attacks on Ebola teams in DR Congo have killed four since the epidemic: the government

Numerous attacks against health teams fighting the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo have left four people dead and dozens wounded in the past 10 months, the government said on Saturday.

The UN has announced that teams helping to combat the second most deadly Ebola outbreak ever recorded after the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic have been reported. attacked and were even killed.

The outbreak reported in eastern DR Congo last August left more than 1,200 deaths in two provinces – Ituri and North Kivu – and new cases have sprung up in these provinces. last weeks.

But efforts to cope with the crisis have been hampered by militia fighting in the affected areas and by badaults on teams as well as by local people who view international prevention efforts with suspicion.

"Between August 2018 and May 20, 2019, there have been 132 attacks against health teams since the state of the epidemic in the east of the country," said the Ministry of Health in a report. "They include health care workers and patients."

Health teams and nurses have reported death threats and the destruction of medical centers because of their role in the fight against the epidemic, he added.

Local medical teams threatened Thursday to strike if the government did not take measures to better protect them from violence.

"Because of the violence, a number of doctors and nurses in the Beni and Lubero regions have had to relocate or temporarily stop, forcing some health centers to close," the ministry said.

The WHO has accused political leaders in the affected region of handling the Ebola problem to turn people against health workers.

The UN on Thursday appointed a coordinator for the global response to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC as it steps up its efforts to contain the epidemic.

David Gressly, currently UN Deputy Special Representative in the DRC, will be responsible for the Ebola response effort, the World Health Organization said.