Vaccination to contain severe measles outbreak underway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo amidst Ebola and mass displacement (12.07.2019)

 

The first sites targeted for measles vaccinations are four displacement camps in Bunia, Ituri.

ITURI, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 12, 2019 –  Health workers are urgently rolling out a complex measles vaccination campaign targeting 67,000 children in Ituri, northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a region ravaged by armed conflict that is now also the hub of the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.

At least 1,981 deaths due to measles have been reported across the DRC this year, over two-thirds of them among children below 5 years old. As of 23 June, nearly 115,000 cases of suspected measles had been reported, far more than the 65,000 recorded in all of 2018.

Ituri, one of the two provinces (the other is North Kivu) struck by Ebola since the outbreak began nearly a year ago, has recorded over 5,400 cases and 50 deaths.

“The combined threat of Ebola and measles for the thousands of families living in overcrowded and unsanitary displacement camps is unprecedented,” said UNICEF DRC Representative Edouard Beigbeder. “We have a small window to prevent a potentially massive loss of life.”

The first sites targeted for measles vaccinations are four displacement camps in Bunia, Ituri, that have seen a huge influx of families forcibly uprooted by fighting in recent weeks. The boundary of one camp, located alongside Bunia’s General Hospital, is less than 100 metres away from an Ebola treatment center. It is also less than 3 kilometres away from parts of Bunia that have seen 5 Ebola cases since the start of the outbreak, 2 of them in the past three weeks.

The Ebola outbreak means the measles vaccination campaign must incorporate extra measures to protect against infection and meticulous triage. Health workers will need to wear gowns to prevent contact with blood or other body fluids. Teams will include an additional health worker who will evaluate and refer suspected Ebola cases, check temperatures and oversee handwashing and other safety measures.

An additional layer of complexity is that some of the early symptoms of Ebola – fever, redness around the eyes, diarrhoea – are virtually indistinguishable from those of measles, malaria or cholera – all of which are prevalent, especially in severely congested displacement sites.

Up to 400,000 people are thought to be internally displaced across Ituri, the vast majority of them women and children. Many live in about 35 camps scattered throughout the province, in territory that is virtually inaccessible due to insecurity. Fighting among various armed groups has damaged or destroyed up to half the health facilities and schools in the province.

“The northeastern part of DRC is home to one of the worst humanitarian crises today. Whether it is from measles, Ebola, or the reality of living in a displacement camp, children are at grave risk. We must do everything we can to protect them,” Beigbeder said.

Measles campaigns are also being planned for Tchomia and Nyankunde health zones.

As of 8 July, there were 2,428 cases of Ebola, with 1,641 deaths. Almost 30 per cent of cases are among children.

UNHCR appeals to Eritrea over refugee camp closure (03.07.2019)

Umkulu camp, located some 10 kilometres from the Red Sea port town of Massawa, is Eritrea’s only refugee camp.

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 3, 2019 – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is appealing to Eritrea not to close the Umkulu refugee camp after hundreds of refugees left the site in recent weeks, amidst reports that local authorities had asked residents to leave.

Umkulu camp, located some 10 kilometres from the Red Sea port town of Massawa, is Eritrea’s only refugee camp. As of mid-June, the camp hosted more than 2,100 Somali refugees. Of these, 1,300 people have now arrived in northern Ethiopia.

“We call on the Eritrean authorities to continue to work with us on securing protection and solutions for refugees who remain in the country,” said Raouf Mazou, Director of UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Africa.

“Closing a camp which has hosted Somali refugees for close to twenty years without offering alternatives raises serious concerns,” UNHCR’s Mazou added.

UNHCR is coordinating with the Ethiopian authorities to relocate the 1,300 refugees who arrived in Ethiopia away from the border and to transfer them to Melkadida in the Southern part of the country. The first relocations are expected to start on Wednesday, 3 July 2019.

Ethiopia is host to some 257,000 Somali refugees.

Urgent humanitarian response needed to unprecedented crises in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo (28.06.2019)

General view of the ISP camp for internally displaced people next to the General Hospital in Bunia.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is supporting the local ministry of health to provide medical care and respond to the most acute needs of the displaced in Drodro, Nizzi and Bunia.

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 28, 2019 – Multiple humanitarian crises are unfolding in Ituri province, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and hundreds of thousands of people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, according to international medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The recent upsurge in violence across the regions of Djugu, Mahagi and Irumu have forced thousands to flee their homes. Despite MSF’s repeated calls on international aid organisations to scale up humanitarian aid, the majority of the displaced still haven’t received even the most basic assistance.“Unfortunately, this is not the first time there are important humanitarian needs in the country,” explains Dr Moussa Ousman, MSF Head of Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “This time we are seeing not only mass displacement due to violence but also a rapidly spreading measles outbreak and an Ebola epidemic that shows no signs of slowing down, all at the same time. This is unprecedented.”

Intercommunal violence has been increasing in Ituri since December 2017, and the large majority of people displaced as a result have been in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, some for more than a year. Since October 2018, MSF has conducted three mortality surveys in the locations of Drodro, Nozzi and Angumu. All showed that the mortality rates in these communities were far above emergency levels.

“Our surveys show that people are mainly dying from preventable diseases such as malaria, measles and diarrhoea,” says Dr Ousman. “That is very worrying. Especially as it has not yet been possible to vaccinate against measles because of the ongoing Ebola outbreak, and the fear of Ebola further spreading. Together with the ministry of health, we are looking at what innovative strategies we can implement given the circumstances, but more help is urgently needed here to prevent more deaths.”

MSF is supporting the local ministry of health to provide medical care and respond to the most acute needs of the displaced in Drodro, Nizzi and Bunia. Our teams are also providing clean water, distributing relief items and constructing showers and latrines. Nevertheless, the most urgent needs of thousands of families remain unmet.

MSF urges for an immediate scale up of long-term humanitarian assistance, to prevent the loss of more lives and to ensure decent living conditions for all those who have been forced to flee.

Burundi: Note de service a l’intention du personnel d’ADRA Burundi (26.06.2019)

Drought in Somalia and Somaliland: Lives Teetering on the Edge (18.06.2019)

UNMISS repairs 2500kms of roads to encourage economic growth and peace in South Sudan (13.06.2019)

Engineers from Bangladesh, China, India, Thailand and South Korea have spent six months working intensively levelling and grading roads.

JUBA, South Sudan, June 13, 2019 –

Engineers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan have repaired more than 2500 kilometers of roads to support economic growth and rapprochement so the conflict-affected country can build a peaceful and more prosperous future.

“When South Sudan gained its independence, it inherited infrastructure that was in a dire state with only about 250 kilometers of sealed roads. War and weather have also taken a toll over the years, leaving many roads impassable in the rainy season,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS, David Shearer.

“The efforts of our engineers to rehabilitate major supply routes will make a big difference to people’s lives.” Engineers from Bangladesh, China, India, Thailand and South Korea have spent six months working intensively levelling and grading roads as well as repairing supporting infrastructure, such as culverts and bridges. They have focused on major routes from Juba to Bentiu (940km), Juba-Bor-Pibor (400km) and Malakal (200km).

“We know that when people are able to travel to meet with each other, it is easier to build trust and confidence. In many areas where roads have been improved, we have seen a decrease in violence between groups and an increase in reconciliation and peace-building activities.”

“Many families are also beginning to have the confidence to return to their homes as the security situation improves. Better roads will enable them to travel safely and more easily,” said David Shearer.

“Improved access will also encourage trade, create jobs and economic growth.” “Importantly, humanitarian agencies will be able to reach communities in need and save millions of dollars travelling by road rather than relying on transporting aid by air. UNMISS will also be able to supply its bases and deploy peacekeepers to locations around the country more efficiently and effectively.”

“I would like to thank the countries that have sent their engineers to serve the people of South Sudan. Their efforts are improving people’s lives as well as the prospects of South Sudan securing a peaceful and more prosperous future,” said David Shearer.

Opinion: [Shootdown] Museveni’s new magic bullet to beat poverty!

Museveni made the remarks yesterday Sunday while delivering his speech during the 30th Heroes Day commemorations held at Kasanje War Memorial Grounds in Wakiso district. He noted that the new program is set to be unveiled during the national budget reading session on June 13. Museveni explained that although there are many several other poverty alleviation programs running across the country, the new program will finally offer the magic bullet to get out of poverty” (URN – ‘Gov’t to introduce another poverty alleviation program’ 10.06.2019).

In the Republic there been many schemes to stop the rampant poverty in Uganda. However, for some reason none of them is working. There sometimes so many going on at the same time, you could think it was a public enterprise to get foreign funding to allocate funds for the projects.

In 1995 the state Entandikwa Scheme launched it and by 2002. The state then introduced the Rural Micro Finance Project was launched instead in 2004. This was not the final one of these, even if the Micro Finances are still viable, but not the main stay.

In next step was the National Development Plan again lasted between 2010/11 – 2014/15 and the Poverty-Environment Initiative. This has been extended by the National Development Plan II (NDP II), which has a lasting period from 2015/16- 2019/2020 and still succeeding to this day.

However, as you would be thinking this is enough? Well, the same state has launched National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) was launched as a scheme in 2002. The Youth Livelihood Programme was launched in 2013. Operation Wealth Creation was launched in 2013. All of these things was created for the same reason, to end poverty. Surely there are plenty more programmes, schemes and tricks of the trade to end poverty. Still, the government have not able to fix the issue.

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) have launched all of these and apparently the President haven’t delivered on this promise. That is why the President again launches a new trick of the trade. This here is just the new way they are trying to sell the end of poverty.

The NRM have tried this their way since the beginning of its reign. President Museveni have clearly tried and not succeeded.

This new scheme is surely just a way for his closest associates to eat. They just need to be revitalized and amended to fit the donors paradigm and the whatever they can reconfigure the budgets.

Museveni is shooting in the dark, his shooting fish in the barrel, he finally has the answer to the magic bullet that shoot JFK in Houston. Because, there is more likely finding the solution of that, than actually solving the issues around poverty. The second reason is that as long as the public and citizens stays poor. They will need aid and foreign donors. Therefore, the President will use all methods and schemes to beat it, but never get results.

That is why this newest scheme will end up like all the other ones. This President has found a new way to get funds, just another trick of his trade. That is what he does, Gen. Salim Selah will surely be involved in this one too. Just like he has done in the past. That is how this is ending. Don’t be shocked or surprised.

The President and NRM had 33 years to be able to do this. They have created all of these methods, but they are never working. That is why I don’t believe this one will do the cut either. Because there is no general will by the authorities to actually get rid of it. They want initially to keep people poor, to be able to get “free” money from the donors and not have to do their job as a government. Peace.

DRC: Local leaders help turn the tide on Ebola (11.06.2019)

So far there have been more than 2008 cases in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.

CAIRO, Egypt, June 11, 2019 – Joseph Kakule, the community leader of the Vighole area, has become one of the most committed social mobilizers in a region ravaged by the ongoing outbreak Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Kakule, 47, is a native of Butembo. He is one of the local leaders who are working to mobilize community engagement to combat Ebola. “Listening to my community, sharing its anxieties and trying to find a solution – that’s what motivates me,” he says.

Kakule and his deputy, 30-year-old Gervais Muhindo, form a duo resolutely determined to break the silence about the disease, and to end mistrust of Ebola health workers.

This week, they both feel happy that they have done their duty. They managed to persuade people who had come in contact with the most recent confirmed cases of Ebola to agree to be vaccinated. Located southwest of Butembo, Vighole is part of the Katwa health zone, which is considered one of the strongholds of community resistance. People here have turned a deaf ear to attempts to raise awareness of an epidemic that has continued to spread.

Every day for the past ten months, Ebola cases have been reported in Butembo – a city of more than one million inhabitants – and its immediate surroundings, including Binone, Kabondo, Kavisa, Kirimbere and Vuhunga. So far there have been more than 2 008 cases in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, including 1 900 confirmed and 94 probable, with more than 1 340 deaths.

To make sure that vaccination teams from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization could safely arrive on site to administer the Ebola vaccine, Kakule and Muhindo first toured the alleys of Vighole, meeting community members. Their goal was to conduct an in-depth door-to-door awareness campaign so that a vaccination site could be set up. They were targeting first and second degree contacts with people who had been diagnosed with the virus.

“It has been a long time since an Ebola response team could set foot here,” Kakule says, “but we are mobilizing against misinformation and lack of trust within our community, which itself is plagued by doubt and anger at the insecurity caused by armed groups.”

During the first six months of 2019, the Katwa area and the Butembo urban agglomeration experienced several attacks attributed to armed groups. These attacks included the looting and destruction of Ebola treatment centres, during which some health responders at the frontline and security forces repelling the attackers lost their lives.

Kakule remembers that, after difficult weeks of bitterness and misunderstanding following these violent incidents, he and Muhindo simply decided to organize community meetings to explain that the Ebola virus disease was a serious danger that threatened everyone without exception.

“Those who die of this deadly virus are our brothers and sisters. We cannot give up and watch the situation continue to deteriorate like this without doing anything,” Kakule says. The Vighole area was recently in uproar after a series of deaths occurred within a single family. First came the death of a 17-year-old boy suspected of having contracted Ebola, followed by the deaths of both his parents a few days later.

“I told myself that talking about Ebola to members of our neighbourhood is not a crime, even if other residents treat us like sell-outs bought by the response teams,” says Muhindo.

Muhindo says he often uses “the testimonies of those who are already healed from Ebola as a powerful argument to sweep away the doubt” of his neighbours in the Vighole area. He also talks about the importance of vaccinating or decontaminating affected households to prevent the disease from spreading further.

Combating misinformation

Teams of first responders to the deadly Ebola virus have often faced community mistrust, fuelled by misinformation spread by some parliamentary candidates in the general elections that took place in late 2018. This is one of the reasons why Kakule and Muhindo decided to fight misinformation about the epidemic, which is having an increasingly negative impact on their community.

“We talk to everyone – young, old and even children. We tell them that it is better to get vaccinated if you came in contact with a confirmed Ebola patient rather than wait a long time to develop the disease only to die later,” Kakule says.

On Friday, May 31, the response teams arrived in Vighole to begin vaccination in the field around the identified contacts. On the same day, the WHO Assistant Director-General for Emergencies and Health Risks, Dr Ibrahima Socé-Fall, visited the site and praised “the courage and commitment of these two community leaders,” referring to Kakule and Muhindo. Thanks to their hard work, their community, once resistant to response activities, is now mobilized to take ownership of the fight to get Katwa and its various neighbourhoods out of the chain of transmission of Ebola.

These response activities, coordinated by the Ministry of Health with the support of the World Health Organization and other partners, have generously received financial contributions from several donors, including Germany, the United States of America, the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), China, South Korea, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), DFID, Japan, Norway, Sweden, the European Union, Canada. Gavi, The Wellcome Trust and others.

Ebola update: In DR Congo, the outbreak continues to worsen while mistrust and violence show no signs of abating (06.06.2019)

Violent storm approaching the Makeke Transit Center: first true test of the sealing of our TC. There were corrections to be made.
Violent orage venant droit sur nous, CT Makeke: premier vrai test de l'”etancheite” de notre CT. Il y a eu des corrections a faire

After ten months into the outbreak, the number of Ebola cases continues to increase.

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 6, 2019 –  The high level of insecurity and the lack of trust in the Ebola response continue to discourage the population from seeking care in Ebola treatment centres, resulting in an increased likelihood of the virus spreading across the general & traditional healthcare system.

While the number of new cases being reported is high, the real number is likely to be even higher.

The lack of trust in the Ebola response and the (related) deterioration of the security situation has led to severe restriction of many Ebola-related activities, including the ability of teams to move quickly on the ground to investigate alerts and trace contacts. People are either dying at home or in general healthcare facilities. People dying of Ebola in the community presents a significant transmission risk and testifies once more to the persistent lack of trust in the intervention.

It will not be possible to end this outbreak if there is no trust built between the response and the affected people. We have to listen to the needs of communities, restore their choice when it comes to managing their health, and involve them in every aspect of the Ebola response.

About the epidemiological situation (4th June 2019)

According to the official figures provided by the Ministry of Health of DR Congo, 2025 cases have been identified at the moment, including 1931 confirmed and 94 probable cases. 1358 people have died from the disease and 552 people have been cured so far.

UNHCR warns of growing climate-related displacement in Somalia (05.06.2019)

An estimated 5.4 million people are likely to be food insecure by September.

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 5, 2019 -This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Ahead of World Environment Day tomorrow, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is calling for urgent additional support to help people affected and displaced by drought in Somalia.

Below average rains during the “Gu” (April-June 2019) and “Deyr” (October – December 2018) rainy seasons have caused worsening drought in many parts of the country. An estimated 5.4 million people are likely to be food insecure by September.

Some 2.2 million of these will be in severe conditions needing immediate emergency assistance unless aid is urgently scaled up.

The drought has also forced more than 49,000 people to flee their homes since the beginning of the year as they search for food, water, aid and work mostly in urban areas. People who are already displaced because of conflict and violence are also affected by the drought, at times disproportionally.

More than 7,000 people were displaced last month alone.

Three main regions of Somalia – South Central, Puntland and Somaliland – have been affected, despite marginal to average rains and flash flooding in some regions. The worst affected areas include the Sanaag, Sool, Awdal, Bari, Nugaal, Mudug, Galgadud, Hiran regions of the country.

The latest drought comes just as the country was starting to recover from a drought in 2016 to 2017 that led to the displacement inside Somalia of over a million people. Many remain in a protracted state of displacement.

UNHCR and humanitarian partners fear that severe climatic conditions combined with armed conflict and protracted displacement could push the country into a far bigger humanitarian emergency. Decades of climatic shocks and conflict have left more than 2.6 million people internally displaced.

To avert a humanitarian crisis, aid agencies launched a Drought Response Plan on 20 May, appealing for US$710.5 million to provide life-saving assistance to 4.5 million people affected by the drought. To date this is 20 per cent funded.

UNHCR has been working with partners and government agencies to assist those affected and displaced by the drought by providing emergency assistance in some of the most affected areas.

Worldwide, weather-related hazards, including storms, cyclones, floods, droughts, wildfires and landslides displaced 16.1 million people last year alone.

With climate change amplifying the frequency and intensity of sudden disasters, such as hurricanes, floods and tornados, and contributing to more gradual environmental phenomena, such as drought and rising sea levels, it is expected to drive even more displacement in the future.

UNHCR is calling for more international action to prevent climate-related disasters, scale up efforts to strengthen resilience and to protect people affected by climate change using all available legal frameworks.