WHO / DRC EBOLA

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Equateur Province continues to grow, causing major concern as the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners face critical funding gaps. Confirmed cases have now surpassed the total number recorded during the province’s last outbreak in 2018. WHO

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:03:58
• Production Date: 16 July 2020
• Asset Language: English; French
• Corporate Name: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO
• Subject Topical: DISEASE CONTROL; VACCINATION CAMPAIGN
• Geographic Subject: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO; REPUBLIC OF CONGO
• MAMS Id: 2551285
• Parent Id: 2551285
• Alternate Title: unifeed200716d

Description

STORY: WHO / DRC EBOLA
TRT: 03:58
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 04 JULY 2020 MBANDAKA / 06 JULY 2020, BIKORO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC) / 16 JULY 2020, BRAZZAVILLE, REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Shotlist

06 JULY 2020, BIKORO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC)

1. Various shots, humanitarian workers traveling from Mbandaka to Bikoro

04 JULY 2020 MBANDAKA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC)

2. Various shots, Ebola vaccination campaign
3. SOUNDBITE (French) Hydrogène Izana, Vaccinator:
"We're going to travel 300 km to Bolomba to vaccinate at least 10,000 people."
4. Wide shot, street view
5. Wide shot, Dr Alhassane Toure walks up
6. SOUNDBITE (French) Alhassane Toure, Lead Vaccinator, Office in Mbandaka, World Health Organization (WHO):
"There are a lot of challenges to our vaccination activities. The first is logistics. We are in a place where mobility is very difficult."

06 JULY 2020, BIKORO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC)

7. Various shots, Ebola vaccination campaign

16 JULY 2020, BRAZZAVILLE, REPUBLIC OF CONGO

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director for Africa, World Health Organization (WHO):
“There are now 56 cases, and this is of great concern, particularly as it is now surpassing the previous outbreak in this area which was closed off and controlled at a total of 54 cases. Some cases are located in remote areas surrounded by rainforests, demanding additional capacities and resources for the response.”

04 JULY 2020 MBANDAKA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC)

9. Various shots, health control at the airport

Storyline

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Equateur Province continues to grow, causing major concern as the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners face critical funding gaps. Confirmed cases have now surpassed the total number recorded during the province’s last outbreak in 2018.

Significant achievements have been made since the outbreak began. In six weeks, more than 12,000 people have been vaccinated. During the 2018 outbreak in Equateur, it took two weeks to start vaccinations. This time around vaccinations started within four days of the outbreak being declared.

The current response builds on lessons learned from the country’s previous Ebola outbreaks, which underscored the importance of working closely with communities

SOUNDBITE (French) Hydrogène Izana, Vaccinator:
"We're going to travel 300 km to Bolomba to vaccinate at least 10,000 people."

Around 90 percent of the vaccinators in the ongoing outbreak are from the local communities. The response has also been able to tap into the expertise of laboratory technicians trained during the 2018 outbreak, with 26 laboratory technicians currently supporting diagnostics. Working with local responders is inspiring trust between communities and health workers and making the emergency response more effective.

SOUNDBITE (French) Alhassane Toure, Lead Vaccinator, Office in Mbandaka, World Health Organization (WHO):
"There are a lot of challenges to our vaccination activities. The first is logistics. We are in a place where mobility is very difficult."

WHO, along with the Ministry of Health and partners, has been engaging with communities to increase understanding of the virus and local support for response activities. More than 40,000 households have been visited by community health workers and more than 273,000 people have been provided with health and safety information.

The latest outbreak, DRC’s 11th, was declared on 1 June 2020 after a cluster of cases was detected in Mbandaka area of Equateur Province. The outbreak has since spread to six health zones, with 56 cases recorded. The city of Mbandaka and its surroundings were also the site of the country’s 9th Ebola outbreak which lasted from May to July 2018 and in which 54 cases were confirmed.

Of the 56 cases reported so far, 53 are confirmed and three are probable. In the last three weeks alone, 28 cases have been confirmed.

SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director for Africa, World Health Organization (WHO):
“There are now 56 cases, and this is of great concern, particularly as it is now surpassing the previous outbreak in this area which was closed off and controlled at a total of 54 cases. Some cases are located in remote areas surrounded by rainforests, demanding additional capacities and resources for the response.”

The ongoing Ebola response is also facing funding shortfalls. So far WHO has mobilized 1.75 million USD, which will last only a few more weeks. Additional support is needed to rapidly scale up the efforts by WHO, the DRC health authorities and partners to ensure all the affected communities receive key services including health education and community engagement, vaccination, testing, contact tracing and treatment.