The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola response had a week of setbacks that had little to do with the virus itself. An eight-bed Ebola transit centre burned at a displacement camp near Bunia after soldiers entered the site, a ruling-party official was beaten to death in Butembo after speaking about Ebola on the radio, and surveillance workers in Bunia protested over wages they say they have not received. The outbreak has recorded 8,300 cases and 4,018 deaths, according to the health ministry’s figures released on October 1.
The fire at Kigonze
The Kigonze displacement site on the outskirts of Bunia, in Ituri province, hosts nearly 19,000 people. Since September 20, the United Nations says, reports of armed violence, threats and intimidation have forced families to leave, and humanitarian organizations have been prevented from entering the site.
In the past week, soldiers entered the camp searching for weapons and for people suspected of belonging to armed groups, the UN reported. Gunfire was reported, and thousands of residents fled. The eight-bed Ebola transit centre at the camp, run by the aid group International Medical Corps, burned down. AP quoted a senior UN official as saying soldiers burned the camp that housed it. Another outlet noted that the circumstances of the fire remain unclear and that accusations by some displaced residents against soldiers were not independently supported. Reports differ on the day of the fire, giving September 29 or October 1. We found no statement from the army or the government.
About 1,000 people identified as Ebola contacts were living in the camp, and only about a fifth have been traced since residents fled, according to a report citing Reuters. The UN’s senior Ebola coordinator, Julien Harneis, said losing a centre means that capacity and investment are lost and teams have to start again.
The killing in Butembo
Marie-Célestin Karondwa, the acting head of the ruling Union for Democracy and Social Progress party’s committee in Butembo, was attacked on September 27 after appearing on a radio programme about Ebola prevention. His party says attackers beat him and burned his house, and that he died of his injuries in hospital, Al Jazeera reported. The party says he was targeted for defending the government’s response. Reuters reported that residents attacked him. The motive and who exactly carried out the attack have not been established. AP reports that many residents dismiss Ebola as a hoax and deeply distrust the government.
What the case numbers can and cannot say
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, was declared on May 15. There are no vaccines or treatments targeting that strain. Confirmed cases fell from about 850 a week in mid-July to an average of about 490 in September, AP reported, and the 278 confirmed near the end of September were the lowest weekly count since mid-June.
Africa CDC has warned that the fall may reflect disrupted surveillance, not real progress. Its epidemiologist said insecurity and community resistance in the Butembo, Beni and Katwa areas had stopped teams from strengthening surveillance there. Surveillance staff are among the workers who say they are unpaid. At a protest in Bunia they carried signs reading “No money, no data,” and one protester said some workers had not been paid for August and September. Front-line workers have gone on strike several times since the outbreak began, and authorities did not immediately address the wage complaints, AP reported. At least 50 health workers have died after contracting the virus.
France’s foreign minister visited Bunia on October 3 and said France would step up Ebola funding. A humanitarian conference in Paris on October 6 is due to discuss Ebola, Reuters reported.
What we do not know
- Who set the fire at the transit centre, and whether the army or the government will investigate.
- Where the people who fled Kigonze have gone, and how many of the roughly 1,000 contacts can be found.
- Whether the fall in confirmed cases reflects a real slowdown.
- When surveillance and front-line workers will be paid, and who is responsible for paying them.
