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By Elhadj As Sy | IFDC
People responding to the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu are facing an unprecedented scenario. This is the first time the Ebola virus has spread in a complex and violent conflict zone.
This is a deadly combination on two fronts: first, violence makes it difficult – sometimes even impossible – for humanitarians and health workers to reach isolated and at-risk communities. Second, the legacy of violence means that even when aid workers can reach communities, people are often scared and distrustful of the help available. It's a vicious circle.
Against this dark backdrop, interveners are tightrope to weigh their humanitarian responsibilities in relation to security issues, in what has become the worst Ebola epidemic ever to hit the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
At the crossroads of Ebola and conflict, aid workers are facing a dilemma.
An Ebola outbreak in an area of violent and complex conflict raises serious concerns about the safety of everyone involved. We can not leave communities exposed to the Ebola virus, but we can not ask our staff and volunteers to take unreasonable risks either. Security must be a prerequisite for our action.
The question is not to stay or leave, but to stay the course: support communities at risk and ensure the safety of staff and volunteers.
These volunteers have the distinction of being from the affected communities and belonging to these communities. In North Kivu, they were present before this epidemic. And they will remain there long after the end of the Ebola virus, providing a vital bridge of support and care in the field for the most vulnerable.
Building support within communities – and developing a better understanding of their concerns – continues to be an important cornerstone of the success of this response to Ebola.
That's why our collective humanitarian work intensifies collaborative efforts with communities. Volunteers build trust through a rumor tracking system that captures suspicions and community concerns. Volunteers use this system to fight fears and misinformation and to encourage people to protect themselves and their families from the Ebola virus.
They open the doors of these communities by removing the barriers of fear and misinformation and building trust. People who respond to the Ebola virus have better access to communities for immunization, health care, support of contacts to search for found-out people and burial with the dignity and safety of infected cadavers who are so essential to stop the disease.
It is also through local aid workers that we are preparing if the disease spread to other DRC provinces or to neighboring countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Sudan. ;Uganda.
Continuing to work with and alongside affected communities remains the priority as it is the time when our humanitarian support is most needed. The answer remains complicated, the area of operation remains dangerous, but security concerns do not exceed our humanitarian obligations.
Humanity must prevail and we will stay on course.
Elhadj As Sy is Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
All opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
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