Ebola Outpaces Global Response as DRC Death Toll Nears 3,000, UN Warns

The United Nations has warned that the global response to theEbola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) must urgently move faster than the virus, as the death toll approaches 3,000.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, raised the alarm over the rapidly expanding outbreak, saying containment efforts were struggling to keep pace despite a major scale-up by humanitarian agencies and Congolese authorities.

“The response is growing and has been scaled up, but the virus is moving faster,” Fletcher said.

“And unless we scale up urgently, more lives will be lost and the threat will grow.”

DRC authorities had reported more than 6,100 confirmed Ebola cases and 2,950 deaths by Monday, with more than 5,000 infections recorded in Ituri Province alone.

The figures have heightened concerns over the speed of the outbreak, which was declared in the DRC on May 15.

Advertisement

Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person, as well as contaminated materials. Early detection, isolation, treatment and contact tracing are therefore considered critical to breaking chains of transmission.

Fletcher said defeating the outbreak would require sustained political commitment, unrestricted humanitarian access and a significant increase in international funding.

“We have the experience, the tools and extraordinary people risking their lives to stop this epidemic. What we need now is political will, access and resources,” he said.

The UN official urged governments to ensure humanitarian workers could reach affected communities, particularly in areas where insecurity, poor infrastructure and difficult terrain are complicating response operations.

He also appealed to the international community to keep Ebola high on the global health agenda to prevent further spread across borders.

A funding gap of about $1.1 billion is currently limiting humanitarian agencies’ ability to expand disease surveillance, treatment, community mobilisation and cross-border preparedness.

Advertisement

Fletcher said his agency had already allocated more than $57 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support response and preparedness operations in the DRC and neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation recently declared Uganda’s latest Ebola outbreak over after authorities successfully deployed rapid detection, contact tracing, isolation, clinical care, infection prevention and enhanced surveillance.

“We have beaten Ebola before, and we can do it again,” Fletcher said.

The UN International Organization for Migration has also conducted nearly 23 million health screenings in the DRC and neighbouring countries.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the screenings were helping authorities monitor population movements, identify potential cases and reduce the risk of cross-border transmission.

The UN warned that although the tools needed to contain Ebola already exist, delayed funding, restricted humanitarian access and poor coordination could allow the virus to continue moving faster than efforts to stop it.

Advertisement