WHO warns of continued Ebola outbreak in Congo

Geneva, November 13 (KUNA) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday of the continued spread of the Bundibugyo ebolavirus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite progress in containing some of the initial outbreak clusters, noting that up to 500 new cases are being recorded weekly.

Speaking at a media briefing in Geneva, WHO Emergency Programme Executive Director Dr. Mike Ryan said the organization has recorded more than 11,000 cases and 5,400 deaths over the past six months, with children accounting for more than a third of total fatalities. He emphasized that the progress made remains fragile and insufficient.

Ryan explained that while significant efforts have been made over the past six months to contain the Ebola outbreak and scale up the humanitarian response, ongoing transmission, escalating violence, and resource shortages in key sectors continue to pose major challenges to containing the crisis.

He confirmed that the WHO has verified more than 80 attacks targeting health facilities and their staff during the past six months, which restrict access to affected populations and hinder surveillance, treatment, and contact tracing activities.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the WHO warned of a worsening acute hunger crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where more than 30 million people—about one-third of the population—face acute food insecurity or worse, corresponding to Phase 3 or above according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Based on the latest IPC analysis, the UN agencies projected that the number of people facing emergency levels of hunger would rise by approximately 600,000, reaching 4.2 million by early 2027, and called on the international community to take urgent action to address the crisis. (End) A.M.K. / R.J.