Turkana Drought: Ruto knows how to insult an Nation!

There is a lot of fake news about what is happening. We have been told that 11 people have died but that is not true. No one has died as a result of the drought and we are working round the clock to ensure that no one dies of hunger” – Deputy President William Ruto

The Deputy President William Ruto better just shut-up, listen to some advice and do something sincere, if it is first time in his life since he left the role as a wandering preacher. It is time for the hustler, the grand standing man of big PR Stunts to act swiftly and actually coordinate the government combined with the whole Nairobi machinery and all authorities. To ensure that the 1 million whose in jeopardy over a warned drought in Turkana gets help.

This is if the DP cares or even has a heart, unless he wants to continue to live lavish and enriching himself on others tragedy, because that is what he does. He sits in air-conditioned home, with a nice green garden, big pool and expensive cars. While fellow citizens go without food for days, because the DP cannot do his, neither any of the other Cabinet Secretaries.

This is really insulting to the people of Turkana. A people who deserves the state to act upon this. Even some people have suggested that its happen every ten years in the region. This means, the state has known about this, as this has happen every ten year. Not only the possible FEWS NET warning in December, which stated this and the state didn’t upon that. Not the Local Government, neither the National Government. They both didn’t act or see it fit to act differently, as the drought, the shortfall of rain was on the horizon. Still, they didn’t think of the consequences, because they are living good, secured and has a pantry with food, anyway.

There been reports of dead in various of villages and counties, however, the state does whatever it can to downplay this. Which is a disgrace, not only to the deceased, but to the public, which knows better. It is insulting to the ones who are struggling and lacking the basics, because the state didn’t plan to grain storage, education in caring for the environment or lean months. Alas, the state haven’t prepared or secured, the food insecurity, which it should have. Instead, they have busy scheduling corruption scandals.

The Jubilee, the DP and the cabinet combined with the local government in the drought hit region. Got to act, wisely and with measures to secure the lives at stake in Turkana. That is, if they really care or more preoccupied with keeping power by any means, while citizens are starving… it is happening on their watch. Still, they are trying to deflect that, its one million citizens who struggles to eat. They got nothing and awaiting handouts, because the state haven’t been concerned about their food insecurity.

DP Ruto, shut-up, listen and take some advice. DP Ruto, please open your ears, get some valuable advice and do something. Not try to PR Stunt this away. That is demeaning and insulting to the public of not only Turkana, but anyone who cares about humanity. Every single person dying because of this, is a foolish death. Because, you and your people could have ensured and facilitated the public and region. So, that it would be prepared for the upcoming dry-season, the shortfall of rain and the IPC 3 level. However, you where busy doing everything else. Peace.

Government of Uganda (GoU), World Food Programme (WFP) investigate Super Cereal issue in Karamoja (19.03.2019)

The Ministry of Health received an alert through its surveillance teams on the ground in Karamoja about suspected food poisoning and began investigations.

KAMPALA, Uganda, March 19, 2019 – The Government of Uganda and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are investigating whether there is a connection between recent illnesses reported in two districts in Karamoja and Super Cereal, a fortified blended food distributed by WFP for prevention of malnutrition.

On Tuesday, 12th, 2019, the Ministry of Health received an alert through its surveillance teams on the ground in Karamoja about suspected food poisoning and began investigations.

Some 262 people have been affected since 12 March with symptoms of mental confusion, vomiting, headache, high fever and abdominal pain. A total of 252 of those were discharged following successful treatment at health facilities in Amudat and Napak. No new admissions have been reported since Monday 18 March.

Seventy-seven of the 262 people were admitted in Alakas, Lokales and Karita health centres in Amudat district while 185 were admitted in Lotome, Lorengechora, Kangole and Apeitolim health centres and Matany Hospital in Napak district. The admissions took place between 12th and 16th of March.

There are unverified reports of three deaths, one of them at Matany Hospital, Napak District and other two in the communities. One male passed away in Lorengechora,Lookit village, Napak district and another female in Amuna village in Karita Sub County, Amudat district. All the deaths took place on 16th of March, 2019. The Government’s investigative team are in the communities to verify the two none facility deaths.

Samples of Super Cereal stocks and water were taken from the affected areas including blood, vomitus and urine from patients and are currently being analyzed at the Directorate of Government Analytical Laboratory and the Central Public Health Laboratory. Food samples have been sent to a laboratory in Mombasa, Intertek Kenya LTD and another in Johannesburg Intertek Testing Services, S.A. LTD, for further analysis. Preliminary results of the Government investigation are expected in the next 24 hours. While results from abroad are expected within the next 5 to 7 days.

The Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Mr. John Byabagambi, the Director General of Health Services, Dr. Henry Mwebesa, the Country Director of WFP, Mr. El Khidir Daloum, and officials of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards visited the affected villages, in Amudat and Napak district on Monday 18 March, and spoke to the affected people and health workers. The team found that the problem remains localized in only two of the eight districts of Karamoja.

Investigating teams from the Ministry of Health and WFP food technologists remain on the ground carrying out surveillance and epidemiological mapping to establish the associated factors and possible causes of this recent illness.

On Friday 15 March, WFP, working with the Government, ordered the immediate suspension of Super Cereal distributions in Karamoja and the refugee hosting districts where it’s distributed. This is as a precautionary measure until investigations are concluded. WFP is working with district authorities to retrieve all Super Cereal stocks from health centres and communities.

An intensive communications campaign is ongoing, advising people not to consume SuperCereal until further notice. Communities have been advised to observe proper hygiene and sanitation, for example through handwashing with soap and drinking boiled water.

Working through Government health systems, WFP has provided Super Cereal in Uganda for more than 10 years. The current coverage of Super Cereal is at 252 locations in Karamoja in addition to many sites across the 13 refugee hosting districts. Refugees receive Super Cereal in the general food basket.

Super Cereal is also distributed in many countries and has a robust record of fighting malnutrition and protecting pregnant or nursing women against malnutrition during the first 1,000 days of their child’s life. Super Cereal undergoes all the verifications of quality control before being distributed. No previous complaints have been reported about the product in Uganda.

Super Cereal is a key component in WFP’s support to the Government’s nutrition programmes that aim to prevent stunting or life-threatening malnutrition.

The goal of The United Nations World Food Programme is saving lives in emergencies and changing lives for millions through sustainable development. WFP supports governments and works in more than 80 countries around the world, feeding people caught in conflict and disasters, and laying the foundations for a better future.

The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Karamoja affairs and WFP commit to conclude all investigations and share results with the public.

We appeal for calmness as investigations are going on and request the communities to report any suspected illness to the nearest health facility or call our toll free line 080010006.

Turkana Drought: State Officials knew about the drought, but didn’t act!

Today is a day of warning, where the government, the local government and its authorities haven’t been prepared or cared for it. In its ignorance, the citizens of Turkana and its draught is happening, because their representatives and the state haven’t prepared for the shortfall of food nor water in the region. Even if there was waning signs months ago.

This is not just made up that Governor Josphat Nanok of Turkana County, CEO of NDMA James Odur, CS of Ministry of Devolution and ASALs Eugene Wamwalwa and so on. Can put the blame on everything else, but not on the intial inaction of their own government post. Even if that is true, because the FEWS warned about this in August/December 2018, because of lack of rain. Still, the government kept pumping like there was no tomorrow. Did nothing about it or didn’t handle it all. Since, who would make a fuzz anyway, right?

FEWS Network Warning Des. 2018:

“Performance of the October to December short rains was highly mixed across Kenya, leading to below-average crop performance and inadequate replenishment of rangeland resources in rainfall-deficit areas. In many pastoral and southeastern marginal agricultural areas, rainfall was below 85 percent of normal, while rainfall in the rest of the country was above average. Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes are likely to persist in most pastoral and marginal agricultural areas through May, and an increase in the number of poor households in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) is expected in localized areas of Turkana, Wajir, and Garissa by February” (FEWS Net, 31.12.2018).

Kenyan Government response:

“The National Government has provided total of Kshs. 1,351,196,000 for response during the period of February, March and April 2019 as follows: Food and safety net Kshs. 601,196,000. Support to household irrigation water storage program (excavation of small water pans) Kshs. 600,000,000. Support to water trucking, maintenance and rehabilitation of boreholes Kshs. 150,000,000. Water trucking by NDMA in Mandera, Wajir, Turkana, Garissa, Marsabit and Tana River and maintenance of water points in selected areas. Hunger Safety Net Programme cash transfers by NDMA in Turkana, Wajir, Mandera and Marsabit” (…) “Nevertheless, the below-average short rains have slightly increased the food insecure population from 655,800 in August 2018 to current number of 1,111,500, with the top 12 counties having a total of 865,300 food insecure people” (Government of Kenya – ‘BRIEF ON CURRENT DROUGHT AND FOOD SECURITY SITUATION IN ASAL COUNTIES, MARCH 2019’ 15.03.2019).

What is sad is the amount of people starving in a midst of draught, in region, where the state could have acted more swiftly and with more manpower. Because, they knew perfectly well that this was happening. This is in a region where Tullow Oil Company plans to drill oil with over 300 oil wells. Meaning, there is money and resources, which should lead to progress and development. So, that the region and county isn’t as impoverish as it is. However, there seems to be little or none of the seeds of the oil to go to needed projects or facilities to help out the locals.

Instead, the international oil companies, which reached an agreement last year in 2018. Have had the ability to drill for oil and the leaders have been pocketing money. While the state and the local county officials haven’t secure the public. That is what is the initial bargain in all of this. The public officials have been busy eating and now the public aren’t even getting bread-crumbs of the spoils. That’s what is even more sad about this situation. Knowing the region had hopes for the oil adventure and now seeing a drought, which brings even more despair.

Lochikar Basin haven’t brought anything to the local community, other than foreign investors pumping out their valuable resources, while the deal between Tullow and Government remains secret. As well, as the scarcity of water and other needed components of life, continue to run rampant in a region, which should have gotten some of the spoils of the wealth that is created there. Instead, the government cartels and public officials, who does not want to associate with the demise of the people in the drought, eat that up.

This could have been avoided, the state could have acted and the Turkana with their Oil should have had the resources to cope with it and be able to buy the needed imports of food and water. Alas, someone else is eating that, as long as the oil trucks are driving to Mombasa and the public see less or little of trade of it all.

While the sun is burning, little or no rain, while they await for a handout, when the government could have footed the bill, by the earnings of the oil alone. Peace.

WFP stops distributing blended food in Uganda as people fall sick in Karamoja (16.03.2019)

Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo (15.03.2019)

The greatest concern centres on the neighbouring urban areas of Katwa and Butembo, which continue to contribute about three-quarters of recent cases.

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 15, 2019 – The public health response to the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak continues to make gains. During the last 21 days (20 February – 12 March 2019), no new cases have been detected in 10 of the 20 health zones that have been affected during the outbreak (Figure 1). There has also been fewer new cases observed over the past five weeks compared to January 2019 and earlier in the outbreak (Figure 2).

Currently, the greatest concern centres on the neighbouring urban areas of Katwa and Butembo, which continue to contribute about three-quarters of recent cases. Clusters in other areas of North Kivu and Ituri provinces have been linked to chains of transmission in Katwa and Butembo, and have thus far been contained to limited local transmissions with relatively small numbers of cases. A total of 74 confirmed cases were reported during the last 21 days from 32 of the 125 health areas affected to date (Table 1). Risk of further chains of transmission and spread remain high, as highlighted by the recent spread to Lubero Health Zone, and reintroduction to Biena Health Zone following a prolonged period without new cases.

Response teams are fully operational in all outbreak affected areas and there are encouraging improvements in community acceptance of the response, despite the challenges of ongoing insecurity caused by armed groups. For example, during the last 21 days in Katwa and Butembo, 88% of the 256 families with a family member who died and was suspected to have EVD, accepted the support from response teams to conduct a safe and dignified burial. Seventy-four new vaccination rings were launched, with over 90% of people eligible for vaccination accepting to do so, and over 90% of these participated in follow-up visits. A total of 5974 people (including 2159 health and frontline workers) consented and were vaccinated this period; overall 87,632 people have been vaccinated to date. Vaccination teams are continuing to follow-up on 12 rings wherein the families have not yet accepted the intervention, and two other rings that are in the process of being defined. Seven field laboratories have remained fully operational, sustaining similar testing rates as previous weeks. During the past week, 1213 samples from new suspected cases, community deaths and previously confirmed cases were tested within 48 hours. Outreach teams made up mostly of local volunteers also met with 6000 households during the past week, building local knowledge of Ebola, and referring sick individuals to either Ebola Treatment Centres (ETCs) or other health facilities as appropriate. In the last two weeks, community dialogues were held in several villages in Katwa and Vuhovi to find ways in engaging community members to build trust and ownership in the Ebola response.

Efforts to strengthen case finding and investigation, and contact tracing activities are also bearing fruit. Of 74 confirmed cases reported in the last 21 days, 83% (62 cases) have been epidemiologically linked to active chains of transmission; either listed as contacts at illness onset (47 cases) or linked retrospectively to other cases or health centre where they were likely exposed (15 cases). Investigations are ongoing to identify links for the remaining cases.

Challenges include further attacks by armed groups on affected communities and ETCs, elements of community mistrust, and persistent delays in getting people into care in ETCs for various reasons. The Ministry of Health, WHO and partners continue to work actively to build community trust and participation in the response, while reinforcing security measures to protect patients and response teams. The ETC in Butembo has been rebuilt following two attacks and is treating patients again, and the Katwa Transit Centre remains operational.

Since the beginning of the outbreak to 12 March 2019, 927 EVD cases1 (862 confirmed and 65 probable) have been reported, of which 57% (525) were female and 30% (280) were children aged less than 18 years. Cumulatively, cases have been reported from 125 of 319 health areas across 20 health zones of the North Kivu and Ituri provinces (Table 1). Overall, 584 deaths (case fatality ratio: 63%) have been reported, and 308 patients have been discharged from ETCs.

*Data in recent weeks are subject to delays in case confirmation and reporting, as well as ongoing data cleaning.

 

DRC: Ebola response failing to gain the upper hand on the epidemic (07.03.2019)

The Ebola response must take a new turn.

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 7, 2019 – Seven months into the largest ever Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Ebola response is failing to bring the epidemic under control in a climate of deepening community mistrust, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said at a press conference in Geneva today. Since the beginning of the year, more than 40% of new cases are people who died of Ebola in the communities. At the epicenter of the epidemic, in Katwa and Butembo, 43% of patients in the last three weeks were still being infected without known links to other cases.

“We have a striking contradiction: on the one hand a rapid and large outbreak response with new medical tools such as vaccines and treatments that show promising outcomes when people come early  –  and on the other hand, people with Ebola are dying in their communities, and do not trust the Ebola response enough to come forward,” said International President of MSF, Dr. Joanne Liu.

Last week, MSF suspended its Ebola activities in Katwa and Butembo, in North Kivu province, after successive attacks on the two treatment centres. While MSF does not know the motives or identities of the attackers, these incidents follow an escalation of tensions around the Ebola response.  Dozens of security incidents occurred against the response as a whole in the month of February alone. While the causes of these acts are not all the same, it is clear that various political, social and economic grievances are increasingly crystalizing around the response.

A range of issues have led to these tensions: from the massive deployment of financial resources focusing only on Ebola, in a neglected region suffering from conflict, violence and long standing health needs; to elections being officially postponed due to the Ebola outbreak,  exacerbating suspicions that Ebola is a political ploy.

The use of police and armed forces to compel people to comply with health measures against Ebola is leading to further alienation of the community and is counterproductive to controlling the epidemic.  Using coercion for activities such as safe burials, tracking of contacts and admission into treatment centres discourages people from coming forward and pushes them into hiding.

The Ebola response must take a new turn. Choices must be given back to patients and their families on how to manage the disease. Vaccination for Ebola must reach more people, and more vaccines are needed for this. Other dire health needs of communities should be addressed. And coercion must not be used as a tactic to track and treat patients, enforce safe burials or decontaminate homes.

“Ebola is a brutal disease, bringing fear, and isolation to patients, families and health care providers,” said Dr. Joanne Liu, “The Ebola response needs to become patient and community centered. Patients must be treated as patients, and not as some kind of biothreat”.

Seven months since the beginning of the current Ebola outbreak in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, there have been 907 cases of Ebola cases (841 confirmed and 66 probable) and 569 people have died. [source: World Health Organization (WHO) report week 9]

Further to the suspension of its activities in Katwa and Butembo, MSF has maintained its Ebola-related activities in the North Kivu towns of Kayna and Lubéru, as well as its management of two Ebola transit  facilities in Ituri province, in the towns of Bwanasura and Bunia. In the city of Goma, MSF has been supporting emergency preparedness by reinforcing the surveillance system and ensuring there is adequate capacity to manage suspected cases.

It has almost been six years, since 11 July 2013, that three MSF staff remain missing after being abducted in Kamango, Nord Kivu, where they were carrying out a health assessment. MSF continues to search for them.

UN Human Rights Office in Burundi Closes (05.03.2019)

The UN Human Rights Office in Burundi was set up in 1995.

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 5, 2019 – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet today announced, with deep regret, that the UN Human Rights Office in Burundi was closed down on Thursday 28 February at the insistence of the Government.

“It is with deep regret that we have had to close our office in Burundi after a 23-year presence in the country,” Bachelet said. “Since the UN Human Rights Office in Burundi was established in 1995, for many years we worked with the Government on peacebuilding, security sector reform, justice sector reform and helped build institutional and civil society capacity on a whole host of human rights issues.”

The UN Human Rights Office in Burundi was set up in 1995, in the context of massive human rights violations perpetrated in the country following the assassination of then President Melchior Ndadaye. The Office helped ensure the incorporation of a human rights dimension to the implementation of the Arusha Agreement, which was the bedrock of the country’s stability for many years. The Office played a leading role in the establishment of the independent National Commission on Human Rights, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in legislative reforms and in the emergence of strong civil society organizations.

“Unfortunately, many of these human rights gains have been seriously jeopardized since 2015,” Bachelet said.

In October 2016, the Government – in reaction to the report by the UN Independent Investigation in Burundi established by the UN Human Rights Council – suspended all cooperation with the Office in Burundi.

“This meant that UN human rights staff were severely hampered in their ability to look into allegations of violations,” the High Commissioner said. Nonetheless, the UN Human Rights Office, in Burundi itself and at its Geneva headquarters, has continued to receive allegations of human rights violations and abuses.

Two years after the suspension of cooperation, on 5 December 2018, the Government requested the closure of the UN Human Rights Office in Burundi, explaining that the country had made sufficient progress in putting in place national mechanisms for the protection of human rights, so the existence of the Office was no longer justified.

“Our reports on the human rights situation in Burundi have always been developed in a constructive spirit, intended to support the promotion and protection of human rights in the country. But I am disappointed by Burundi’s lack of cooperation in recent years with UN human rights mechanisms – which even went so far as to include threats to prosecute members of the independent international Commission of Inquiry established by the UN Human Rights Council,” High Commissioner Bachelet said.

Bachelet paid tribute to the many human rights defenders and civil society actors in Burundi who have worked with inspiring dedication, perseverance, courage and expertise through many political and social crises in the country, while noting with concern that in recent years, many of them have been detained or forced into exile.

“Even as our Office in Burundi closes, we will continue to explore other ways to work to shed light on human rights concerns and support the advocacy, promotion and protection of human rights in the country,” she said.

“The Government has expressed its readiness to work with UN Human Rights Office after the closure of our Country Office and we stand ready to engage constructively. I also call on the Government of Burundi to cooperate with all relevant UN human rights mechanisms, including UN independent experts and human rights treaty bodies.”

Humanitarian Chief completes visit to Malawi: An immediate food crisis has been averted, but the root causes of food insecurity and other humanitarian needs must be addressed (02.03.2019)

Urgent scale-up in Humanitarian Response required in Zimbabwe (28.02.2019)

An estimated 2.9 million people in rural areas and 1.5 million in urban areas are already severely food insecure, including 1 million facing emergency levels of food insecurity.

HARARE, Zimbabwe, February 28, 2019 –  UN humanitarian chief allocates US$10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund, says more is required with 5.3 million people in need of assistance following drought and prolonged economic crisis.

During a three-day mission to Zimbabwe, including a meeting this morning with His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock announced the allocation of US$10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help reach over 5.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance following drought and economic shocks. The mission will end tomorrow with a visit to Bindura to talk with people affected by increasing food insecurity.

“The CERF allocation will help us to rapidly provide critical food and livelihood support, education, health, and protection services for the most vulnerable people who are hardest-hit during crises, including children, women, the elderly, and people who are chronically ill or living with disabilities,” said Mr. Lowcock. “But the $10 million represents only a fraction of what is needed to meet the level of need across the country.”

The announcement was made during the launch of the Zimbabwe Flash Appeal today. Mr. Lowcock, UN Resident Coordinator Bishow Parajuli, and senior Government representatives launched the Appeal which requires $234 million to provide urgent food, health, water, sanitation, hygiene and protection support for 2.2 million people of the 5.3 million people in need over the next six months.

An estimated 2.9 million people in rural areas and 1.5 million in urban areas are already severely food insecure, including 1 million facing emergency levels of food insecurity. A further 900,000 people risk reaching crisis food insecurity levels if the humanitarian assistance they are receiving does not continue. In areas across the country, there are acute shortages of essential medicines, and rising food insecurity has heightened the risk of gender-based violence, particularly for women and girls.

While in Zimbabwe, Mr. Lowcock met senior government officials, NGOs and humanitarian organizations. He also visited the densely populated Harare suburb Epworth, where he met with families who are struggling to cope. “I heard from people living with HIV who are unable to take the critical drugs they need. They can’t take it on an empty stomach and many of them can only afford one meal a day,” Mr. Lowcock said.

During his visit, Mr. Lowcock saw first-hand how quickly UN agencies and NGOs have acted to adapt and scale up vital services, including food assistance, child protection and healthcare programmes in response to the rapidly evolving situation in Zimbabwe. He commended the essential role of NGOs in collaborating with the UN in helping the most vulnerable people.

During his meetings with senior government officials, including the President, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance, Mr. Lowcock echoed recent calls by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and urged the Government to find ways of engaging with people about legitimate grievances – including through national dialogue on the economic challenges the country is facing – and to investigate all reports of violence in a prompt, thorough and transparent manner. Mr. Lowcock stressed that the root causes of the growing humanitarian needs must be addressed.

“I have had extremely constructive and cordial discussions with the Government. I was pleased to be able to reinforce to them the UN’s total solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, and to thank the Government for the excellent collaboration the UN enjoys here,” said Mr. Lowcock.

From Zimbabwe, Mr. Lowcock will visit Malawi 1-2 March to see first-hand the humanitarian situation there and the efforts undertaken by aid organizations to respond.

Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo (28.02.2019)

Katwa and Butembo remain the major health zones of concern, while simultaneously, small clusters continue to occur in various geographically dispersed locations.

GENEVA, Switzerland, February 28, 2019 –  The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak is continuing with moderate intensity. Katwa and Butembo remain the major health zones of concern, while simultaneously, small clusters continue to occur in various geographically dispersed locations. During the last 21 days (6 – 26 February 2019), 77 new cases have been reported from 33 health areas within nine health zones (Figure 1), including: Katwa (45), Butembo (19), Vuhovi (4), Kyondo (3), Kalunguta (2), Oicha (1), Beni (1), Mandima (1), and Rwampara (1).

Although there are decreasing trends in case incidence (Figure 2), the high proportion of community deaths reported among confirmed cases and relatively low number of new cases who were known contacts under surveillance could increase the risk of further chains of transmission in affected communities. Response teams must maintain a high degree of vigilance across all areas with declining case incidence and contact tracing activity, as well as in areas with active cases, to rapidly detect new cases and prevent onward transmission. Following attacks this week on the treatment centres in Katwa and Butembo, WHO is working with partners to ensure the safety of the patients and staff. These incidents are disruptive to the response on many levels and can also hamper surveillance activities in the field.

As of 26 February, 879 EVD cases1 (814 confirmed and 65 probable) have been reported, of which 57% (499) were female and 30% (264) were children aged less than 18 years. Cumulatively, cases have been reported from 119 of 301 health areas across 19 health zones. Overall, 553 deaths (case fatality ratio: 63%) have been reported and as of 19 February 2019, 257 survivors have been reported. There is ongoing cleaning of the case database to correct the number deaths and survivors discharged from Ebola Treatment Centres (ETCs).

Public health response

For further detailed information about the public health response actions by the MoH, WHO, and partners, please refer to the latest situation reports published by the WHO Regional Office for Africa:

Ebola situation reports: Democratic Republic of the Congo

WHO risk assessment

WHO continuously monitors changes to the epidemiological situation and context of the outbreak to ensure that support to the response is adapted to the evolving circumstances. National and regional risk levels remain very high, though global risk levels remain low. This EVD outbreak is affecting primarily the north-eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo bordering Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. There is a potential risk for transmission of EVD at the national and regional levels due to extensive travel between the affected areas, the rest of the country, and neighbouring countries for economic and personal reasons, as well as due to insecurity. The country is concurrently experiencing other epidemics (e.g. cholera, vaccine-derived poliomyelitis, malaria, measles), and a long-term humanitarian crisis. Additionally, the fragile security situation in North Kivu and Ituri, further limits the implementation of response activities.

As the risk of national and regional spread is very high, it is important for neighbouring provinces and countries to enhance surveillance and preparedness activities. The International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) Emergency Committee has advised that failing to intensify these preparedness and surveillance activities would lead to worsening conditions and further spread. WHO will continue to work with neighbouring countries and partners to ensure that health authorities are alerted and are operationally prepared to respond.

WHO advice

International traffic: WHO advises against any restriction of travel to, and trade with, the Democratic Republic of the Congo based on the currently available information. There is currently no licensed vaccine to protect people from the Ebola virus. Therefore, any requirements for certificates of Ebola vaccination are not a reasonable basis for restricting movement across borders or the issuance of visas for passengers leaving the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO continues to closely monitor and, if necessary, verify travel and trade measures in relation to this event. Currently, no country has implemented travel measures that significantly interfere with international traffic to and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Travellers should seek medical advice before travel and should practice good hygiene.

*Data in recent weeks are subject to delays in case confirmation and reporting, as well as ongoing data cleaning – trends during this period should be interpreted cautiously.