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UN PhotoUN / DRC EBOLA CENTRE BURNING
STORY: UN / DRC EBOLA CENTRE BURNING
TRT: 1:20
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 1 OCTOBER 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1.Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
1 OCTOBER 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“And in nearby Democratic Republic of the Congo, our Senior Ebola Coordinator on the ground, Julien Harneis, expressed his deep concern following the burning yesterday of an Ebola transit center in the Kigonze displacement site in Ituri. The facility was operated by the NGO International Medical Corps and supported more than 50 staff members. Mr. Harneis stressed that the loss of a transit or treatment center is a serious setback for our efforts to fight Ebola. Capacity is lost. Investments are wiped out. Teams have to start all over again. And most importantly, people lose access that they urgently need in this context. The incident comes amid growing insecurity in the Kigonze site, which hosts about 19,000 displaced people and where reports of armed violence, threats and intimidation have forced families to flee and has hindered humanitarian access. Once again, it is important to reiterate that health facilities, humanitarian workers and medical personnel must be protected and that humanitarian organization must be allowed to do their work safely and to deliver life-saving assistance and support in the Ebola response.”
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senior Ebola Coordinator on the ground, Julien Harneis, expressed his deep concern following the burning on Wednesday (30 Sep) of an Ebola transit centre in the Kigonze displacement site in Ituri.
Speaking to reporters today (1 Oct) in New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, “the facility was operated by the NGO International Medical Corps and supported more than 50 staff members.”
He added that the Snior Ebola Coordinator Harneis stressed that “the loss of a transit or treatment center is a serious setback for our efforts to fight Ebola. Capacity is lost. Investments are wiped out. Teams have to start all over again. And most importantly, people lose access that they urgently need in this context.”
Dujarric continued, “the incident comes amid growing insecurity in the Kigonze site, which hosts about 19,000 displaced people and where reports of armed violence, threats and intimidation have forced families to flee and has hindered humanitarian access.”
“Once again, it is important to reiterate that health facilities, humanitarian workers and medical personnel must be protected and that humanitarian organization must be allowed to do their work safely and to deliver life-saving assistance and support in the Ebola response,” the UN Spokesperson said.
