A man is screened for Ebola virus disease at the Kenya-Uganda border in Busia, Kenya, June 19, 2019. (Xinhua/Fred Mutune)
"At this critical juncture...we mourn for those we have lost; and we call for solidarity to end this outbreak," says UN agencies.
GENEVA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Several UN agencies on Wednesday issued a joint statement calling for solidarity to end the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ahead of the one-year milestone of the outbreak.
"At this critical juncture, we reaffirm our collective commitment to the people of the DRC; we mourn for those we have lost; and we call for solidarity to end this outbreak," the joint statement said.
The statement was issued by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, and World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley.
Aug. 1 marks one year since the government of DRC declared an outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in its North Kivu province.
Pupils queue to wash their hands with chlorinated water to prevent the spread of Ebola at Quality Model Primary School in Kasese district, Western Uganda, June 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Nicholas Kajoba)
"Ebola passes from mother to child, husband to wife, patient to caregiver, from the dead body of a victim to the mourning relative," the joint statement said, adding that it is primarily a health crisis, but one that also critically impacts how people care for their family, view their neighbours and interact with their community.
Mentioning that this outbreak is occurring in an active conflict zone which makes an effective response far more complicated because of insecurity, the statement also called on all parties to the violence to ensure that responders can do their work safely and that those seeking care can access it without fear of attacks.
According to the latest UN figures, in 2018, there have been more than 2,600 confirmed cases, including more than 1,800 deaths in parts of Ituri and North Kivu provinces, and almost one in three cases is a child.
On Tuesday, a new case of the disease was confirmed in Goma, North Kivu province.
"This latest case in such a dense population center underscores the very real risk of further disease transmission, perhaps beyond the country's borders, and the very urgent need for a strengthened global response and increased donor investment," the joint statement said.
