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FAIRFIELD, Connecticut (April 5, 2019) – With more than 1,100 Ebola cases in the DRC and an increase in the number of cases in the last two weeks, Heather Kerr, Country Director of Save the Children in the DRC, said:
"Efforts to eradicate the disease are enormous. Progress has been made, but this increase in the number of cases shows that gains could be negated. With the wrong approach, fear and suspicion could still overwhelm the fight against the disease. "
"Save the Children has worked tirelessly to help communities fight the disease. We work within and alongside communities to ensure that they know how to protect themselves and feel supported by the terrible experience of a strange and deadly disease on their doorstep. "
Kerr added that the long-standing conflict in the region is combining with Ebola to let children live in constant fear.
"Children are scared and angry at what's happening to them. For years, they had neighbors, friends and loved ones killed in the conflict while working in their fields or walking the streets. Today, the Ebola virus not only kills more and more lives – it also destroys the essential link between children and their family and friends because they can not touch each other or comfort each other. They live in constant fear of contracting the disease, but also to be attacked by armed groups. "
"People thought that Ebola had been provoked by an evil spirit"
Save the Children spoke to children and families trying to address the dual threat of conflict and the Ebola virus, which shed light on the fears and misconceptions surrounding the disease.
An armed group mbadacred Pierre's uncle *, aged 13, and one of their children in their field. Pierre 's little cousin, one month old, was also touched by the attack but survived after five months of treatment. After this tragedy, he and his family are facing the new threat of the Ebola virus.
Pierre attends Ebola awareness sessions with Save the Children and shares information with his friends. He said:
"People thought that the Ebola virus was caused by an evil spirit. When a child contracts the Ebola virus, he may have a high fever, he sweats a lot and his eyes change color. "
Pierre's father, Henri *, cares for the orphan children of his brother and his family – 15 in total. He is also a community leader trained by Save the Children to go from house to house and educate families about the Ebola virus and how to protect themselves.
"There was a lot of resistance because people thought the Ebola virus was scary," said Henri. We also thought that it was bad spirit. Others thought it was the government that had created the virus to reduce the country's population. We were afraid because of the conflict and we were waiting for the elections. This has contributed to people's misunderstanding about Ebola and the fact that the government has created Ebola to reduce the number of people.
"I am informing neighbors and families about Ebola to show them how Ebola is a dangerous disease that could kill the entire village."
Sébastien *, 15, did not initially believe that Ebola existed and refused to be vaccinated. He changed his mind about the Ebola virus after attending awareness clbades with Save the Children.
"The Ebola virus touched some of my friends, but I refused to get vaccinated. Many parents refused to allow their children to be vaccinated because they were not informed, "Sebastien said. "They thought the vaccine carriers were people with Ebola and they would infect them. I thought that when you were vaccinated, you contracted the disease. People said that once vaccinated, you died.
* The name has been changed to protect the identity
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