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<\/p>\n
Dr Abdirahman Mahamud, Director, Health Emergency Alert and Response Operations\u00a0at the\u202fWorld Health Organization (WHO), who returned last week from one month in the DRC, said that as of\u00a0Monday, there are 1,048 confirmed cases reported, of which 267 deaths.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the largest number of confirmed cases in the first month of an Ebola disease outbreak in Africa<\/strong>,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n During\u00a0the current\u00a0outbreak\u00a0due to\u00a0the Bundibugyo species of\u202fEbola\u202fvirus,\u00a0declared on 15 May,\u00a0it only took 37 days\u00a0to reach 250 deaths, Dr Mahamud explained,\u00a0while in comparison, it took 78 days to reach\u00a0that number in\u00a0the 2014 and 2016 West Africa outbreak, and 130 days in the 2018-2019\u00a0outbreak.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Director General for\u00a0Operations\u00a0at the\u00a0International Organization for Migration (IOM),\u00a0highlighted the dramatic impact of the disease on families, who are carrying \u201cimmense burdens\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEveryday life has become fraught with risk,\u201d she insisted.\u00a0\u201cThe journey to feed your family or earn a living can also become a journey into danger.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The virus has become\u00a0\u201cmore than a health crisis,\u201d she explained.\u00a0\u201cIt touches every aspect of daily life, bringing uncertainty and fear<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Ms. Daniels said that the\u00a0outbreak is\u00a0\u201ccentered on areas where people cross borders every day.\u201d An effective response therefore requires\u00a0maintaining\u00a0surveillance as formal and informal cross-border movements continue, she explained, among communities affected by conflict and insecurity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Since the start of the response,\u00a0IOM and partners\u00a0have screened over\u00a0a\u00a0million\u00a0travellers\u00a0\u201cat key points of entry and along major mobility corridors\u201d,\u00a0she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The IOM official said that out of\u00a0$55.8 million\u00a0required\u00a0to support cross-border coordination and surveillance across 11 countries over the next six\u00a0months,\u00a0a funding gap of some $35\u00a0million\u00a0remains.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is needed in order for us to get ahead of the outbreak is a collective commitment to ensure that the effort is now fully resourced,\u201d she insisted.\u00a0<\/p>\n WHO\u2019s Dr Mahamud noted encouraging signs that the response has been expanding\u00a0to keep pace with the\u00a0spread.\u00a0<\/p>\n The number of treatment beds has increased over the last two weeks,\u00a0\u201cgoing from a handful to over 500 beds across 19 health zones,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, surveillance has been scaled up<\/strong>, with laboratory capacity going\u00a0from 30 tests a day in Kinshasa at the start of the\u00a0outbreak to over 2,000 tests per day through a network of\u00a0eight\u00a0decentralized labs\u00a0across\u00a0Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.\u00a0<\/p>\n Paolo Cravero, Senior Officer, Communications and Media Relations\u00a0at the\u00a0International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), highlighted safe and dignified burials as another pillar of the response. IFRC has been delivering dedicated kits and body bags to the affected areas despite their remote location and security challenges, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLike in any crisis, any outbreak, such as\u00a0Ebola,\u00a0the tension tends to grow,\u201d\u00a0Mr. Cravero stressed. \u201cAnd we have seen violence against our volunteers at [safe and dignified burial] sites.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The IFRC spokesperson highlighted\u00a0\u201ca lack of trust in the response,\u201d insisting that the organization is \u201cworking hard with communities to bridge that gap.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRumour\u00a0and misinformation are creating some difficulties,\u201d he acknowledged.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nFamilies at risk<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
More hospital beds and tests<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n