Violence, Propaganda and superstition complicate the fight against Ebola

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Aid organisations warn of a spread of Ebola in Eastern Congo. Debt, the precarious security situation and a lack of willingness of the population, measures for the prevention of infection implement be.

Because of continuing attacks on responders and treatment centers, the world health organization (WHO) has warned of the spread of the Ebola epidemic in Eastern Congo. The militias should not stop their attacks, it is unlikely that the outbreak of hemorrhagic fever could be limited to the two provinces of North Kivu and of Ituri, warned the organization. The provinces are located close to the borders with Rwanda and Uganda.

In the Region, in which numerous armed groups are active, have already infected over 1600 people with Ebola. In spite of a large aid operation, the number of cases and deaths have increased cases last updated: 1147 had already died of the disease, it is said in the last Update of the WHO on 16. May 2019. 68 percent of the deaths were outside of the Ebola-recorded transit centers set up by the WHO in the Region. Attacks on helper or transit centers, where suspected Ebola cases are investigated, or treatment centers would complicate the work of the Doctors.

“We work two days and already a new attack and the staff of the Ebola is-teams have to stay five days at home. In the meantime, we need to Interview our main enemy, the Ebola Virus, in the field,” says Dr. Aruna Abedi, the Ebola coordinator of the Congolese Ministry of health, in DW. The fight against Ebola will increasingly unequal struggle: “If we can’t work five days, is the Virus in the advantage. The disease will get ahead of us and we must catch up for lost time. A very tough fight.”

Attacks on relief teams

Recently Katwa in North Kivu had been put in place, close to the Ugandan border, a transit center in Brand. In April, a WHO had been killed in an attack-doctor. The mastermind of the attacks remained mostly unclear. Multiple local militias for the attacks were made responsible. After such incidents, the auxiliary insert is exposed to, usually temporarily, in order to strengthen the security measures. In this time, the number of new increasing cases again.

The WHO recommends an expansion of the vaccination campaign in DR Congo.

Dr. Babou Rukengeza team leader of “Save the Children” is a charitable organisation in North Kivu in use. In a DW Interview, the doctor of continuous demonstrations and riots reported, especially in the town of Beni, which would pose a significant Problem. “This unrest, it always comes back to disabilities of our work and delays”, so Rukengeza. In such conditions, it is not a surprise that the cases of Ebola increased in the Region. “We could get the Ebola Problem well in the handle, if you would leave us only a sensible work,” the doctor safe.

The outbreak, have received in the Region is already well over 110 000 people an experimental Ebola vaccine. The WHO recommended an extension of the vaccination campaign.

But believe beats school of medicine

However, the national health services in the East of Congo have to do with a serious Problem: Many people distrust the Doctors and relief teams and the government. And you distrust the drugs. Seem to be deliberately spread false information: So there are people who claim that the drugs would be administered in the transit centres, would make barren or even kill. Doctors and aid organizations are only intruders that wanted to make with the Ebola money. Other doubt, in turn, basically, that there is no disease at all. She was invented. Or it was demons that were carried into the Region from outside in.

“A lot of people give wrong Believe information much faster than correct information. And that has consequences,” said Ebola co-ordinator Aruna Abedi. He points out that even a politician would have been based on incorrect information, not to claim that Ebola exist. “They also say other things about that everything was just made up. Sometimes it is, someone would have been poisoned, then again, the talk is of magic, or it will be re-listed for other reasons. The disease is real, it still kills people and spreads among the population.”

Another big Problem Abedi describes it this way: The bodies are highly contagious, and yet the family were members of hard to be talked out of touch, a code of the mountains is a high risk of Infection. “We call on you again and again to follow the hygiene measures, to report Sick with symptoms and Dead not to touch. But the people accept the hard. With the Denial of the disease, a great danger goes hand in hand. It is said in a proverb: The people will perish in ignorance. Therefore, we are trying to combat this ignorance among the population.”

Health authorities call for people to follow hygiene measures strictly.

Traditional leaders should be involved

In the crisis area set up by medical Teams now want to include reinforced the traditional leaders in the fight against Ebola. King Mfumu Difima, one of the most prominent traditional monarch in the DR Congo, stressed in an interview with DW that it is very difficult to fight the stereotypes: “We want to do our part to convince people to be in the official treatment centers treat. We tell people that they should report to the authorities all cases of disease, but we fight against great odds.”

Again and again, people will not be encouraged in Ebola infections to entrust the official health services, but rather traditional physicians, who are not infrequently charlatans, so the king Mfumu Difima. In the regions affected many political pied Piper were also on the move, which would have made the people believe that Ebola was just a pretext, the elections of 30. To move December 2018, a Trick, to prevent people from exercising their right to vote. In fact, the election Commission announced only four days before the important vote, in the constituencies of Beni and Butembo and in the surrounding areas of Beni, because of the epidemic to suspend. It was there on January 31. March rescheduled to a time when the newly elected President was already in office.

The eruption had begun last August and the worst since the devastating Ebola epidemic in West Africa 2014/2015. At that time, approximately 11,000 people were killed. For the democratic Republic of the Congo it is already the tenth known Ebola epidemic. The previous outbreaks were, however, peaceful regions could be relatively quickly contained.

Staff: John Kanyunyu (in Beni), Wendy Bashi