The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that insecurity is increasingly undermining efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), following a series of attacks targeting civilians, health workers and medical facilities.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 66 civilians, including three health workers, were killed during an attack on the town of Cantine-Aloya last week. Three health facilities were also looted and burned.
According to Tedros, more than 1,000 contacts have been lost to follow-up, while three confirmed Ebola cases are unaccounted for, creating further challenges for disease surveillance and containment.
He described the attack as a major humanitarian emergency and a significant setback to the Ebola response.
The WHO chief also reported another attack in Tshopo Province two weeks earlier, in which a nurse was killed and another health worker seriously injured while responding to an Ebola alert.
Other incidents have included a grenade found near a health zone office, gunfire near an Ebola treatment centre, an attempted arson attack on a treatment facility and threats against health workers.
Tedros said stones had also been thrown at a vehicle conducting safe and dignified burials, operations that are important in preventing further transmission of the virus.
He warned that the attacks were restricting humanitarian access, disrupting medical operations and delaying efforts to reach affected communities, giving the virus more opportunities to spread.
The WHO director-general shared the concerns during a briefing to WHO Member States, calling attention to the growing security challenges facing health teams working to contain the outbreak.
