09.06.2020
Ebola campaign banner from the last Ebola outbreak in East Kivu in 2018 (photo: Hulda Vagheni/CBCA).
A new outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever has been reported in Mbandaka. While social actors and churches are currently mobilising everything to protect the population from COVID-19, another bad news is now coming like a thunderclap of thunder over the people in the provincial capital: Ebola is back!
We still remember how the Ebola virus terrified the people in the region around Bikoro (128 km from Mbandaka) between April and July 2018, before it was reported in the eastern province of North Kivu (especially in Butembo and Beni). 2,280 people have fallen victim to the virus so far. The current Ebola epidemic is the eleventh documented outbreak since the first disease was reported in 1976.
The Mbandaka Infection Epicenter is located in the area called "Air-Congo", a place in the east of the city, not far from the airport. The Ebola diagnosis was not made in time for the first victims due to the close family structures, so the infection rate is probably already quite high. Only since June 1, 2020 a laboratory test proved that the deceased people and current patients carry the dangerous Ebola virus.
Among the reported Ebola victims, the UEM member church CDCC (Church of the Disciples of Christ in Congo) is directly affected. The Mbandaka church district is deeply shocked by the death of two youth leaders from its congregations. The parish of Air-Congo lost its youth leader, who was also the youth secretary of Mbandaka County. Two other victims are reported from the parish of Nouvelle-Cité. No one can say how many more people are already infected due to contacts with sick people. It is to be feared that the chain of contamination is long.
The Wangata General Hospital is currently the most important place in the city, and the hospital is currently being rebuilt to transfer patients for proper medical care. So far seven people have died and four patients have been quarantined in designated rooms. A new accommodation facility is currently being built in the entrance area of the hospital to accommodate new patients. However, the Congolese government can only meet such a major challenge with the help of social partners such as local churches and international NGOs.
The CDCC, as one of the local aid organisations, fears that the epidemic will be difficult to contain given the expected size of the new outbreak. Therefore, the CDCC's steering committee met on June 4 to define some areas of church intervention. At this meeting the church agreed on the following tasks:
1. to protect the medical staff and improve the hygienic conditions in the health stations of Mbandaka and Bolenge
2. substantial support for the administration of medicines (primary care)
3. awareness-raising campaign among the population: warning the population of the dangers of non-compliance with preventive hygiene measures via radio and other communication channels in the areas of Bikoro (with people already infected), Lukolela, Bomongo, Ingende, Bolomba, Basankusu and in the province of Tshuapa (Boende)
There is an urgent need to consistently take up the fight against Ebola in Mbandaka in order to protect the inhabitants of the provincial capital as well as the people in the other regions which are economically and otherwise connected with the megacity. In the meantime, the actions and prayers against COVID-19 will continue.
Mr. Safari Kanyena (UEM development officer for CDCC & CADELU)
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