Groups toil against Ebola
They continue to face challenges in response to the deadly outbreak
A health worker checks personal protective equipment July 10 during training by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders to reinforce regional emergency response capacity for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo at Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County, Kenya.
AFRICA
Misinformation and distrust are among the challenges public health workers face in the Democratic Republic of Congo as they confront the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.
The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency May 17. Since then, more than 5,200 cases of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus were confirmed and more than 2,500 people died in Congo, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Aug. 7, more than 550 people were in isolation with Ebola in Congo, the country's National Public Health Institute said. Twenty cases and two deaths were reported in neighboring Uganda as well, but no new cases were reported there since June 21, the WHO said.
The worst Ebola outbreak in history claimed more than 11,300 lives in West Africa from 2014 to 2016.
The current emergency is only the third outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain in central Africa. Congo officials reported a 44% fatality rate for the rare strain, which does not yet have a vaccine. Military conflict in eastern Congo, where the outbreak is centered, made the medical response more difficult.
The U.S. pledged $512 million in direct aid and temporarily banned non-U.S. citizens traveling from the affected region from entering the U.S.
Public health workers in Congo continue to toil against Ebola. KFF Health News profiled five organizations involved:
Africa CDC
Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the African Union's public health agency, in charge of helping health institutions in its member states with disease threat detection and response. With the WHO, Africa CDC announced a joint Ebola response plan June 5. The organizations said they would need more than $500 million over the following six months for the effort.
Their primary goal is to strengthen cross-border communication and collaboration under "One Response" plan. Africa CDC released guidelines for travel and public gatherings, urging people to implement prevention methods including avoiding contact with bodily fluids, rather than issuing blanket travel restrictions to affected areas.
National Institute for Biomedical Research
This subagency within the Congolese Ministry of Public Health is tasked with monitoring and documenting the virus. Officials conduct on-the-ground testing and set up laboratories in Ituri province, the area hardest hit by the virus.
In July, the agency said it also stepped up detection and monitoring of the virus's evolution. Genomic surveillance, or analyzing the virus's genetic code, is an "essential tool" for containing the virus, officials said. It also helps with vaccine development, which is underway.
Doctors Without Borders
For more than two decades, Doctors Without Borders has responded to humanitarian and medical crises in Ituri. The wellknown international organization provides emergency medical aid, as well as disease surveillance.
Kate White, an emergency medical coordinator for the organization, is working in Bunia, the capital of Ituri. In a phone interview, she said the financial stability and size of MSF, the abbreviation for the group's French name, enable it to work with partner organizations to distribute resources and care. More than 1,400 MSF workers responded to the outbreak.
International Medical Corps
Since mid-May, IMC members provided case management and community education specific to Ebola and this outbreak. IMC operates rapid response teams in the region and established treatment centers where patients can receive medicine and other care, as well as centers where people await test results.
"We're also supporting the continuity of primary healthcare in the most at-risk regions," said Erica Tavares, an IMC senior director.
Training health professionals is a focus of IMC's work in Congo. It is also one way the organization partners with other entities, such as Africa Humanitarian Action.
Eventually, IMC-run facilities will be turned over to local healthcare leaders, Tavares said, so communities may be better equipped to respond to future outbreaks. IMC also focuses on improving hygiene and water sanitation, she said.
SOFEPADI
SOFEPADI is a Congolese nonprofit that primarily serves women and girls. The women-led organization works to prevent gender-based violence, reduce inequality and help women take charge of their own healthcare.
SOFEPADI officials say they work to protect women in the Ebola outbreak. During past outbreaks, women were overrepresented in Ebola deaths due to their increased exposure as caregivers in their communities. "If the women fall, the whole community falls with them," SOFEPADI officials wrote in French in a June 1 post on their website.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.
