4 minute read
Notes from the field: Stopping the Ebola epidemic
By Michael Messenger
The Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is now the second largest in history. With more than 3,000 cases reported, the disease has killed upwards of 2,000 over the past year. New cases continue to emerge. These aren’t just statistics. The impact has been devastating at the community and family level. I heard heartbreaking stories while in the DRC in October. One family lost 11 members — aunts, uncles, sisters and brothers — to the disease. Only three members of this family survived. I also saw first-hand how the outbreak has displaced and separated thousands of other families, leading to a rapidly evolving child-protection crisis. Ebola orphans and other affected children are now highly vulnerable to violence and exploitation. Similarly, Ebola survivors shared that they face ongoing stigmatization that is putting them deeper into extreme poverty. While identification and treatment of new cases are critical, so too are prevention measures to stop the contagion. Many local people are still learning that Ebola is initially contracted from hunting bats and other animals that can carry the virus. When people are food insecure and have limited options, they turn to “bush meat.” Ebola then spreads further through close human contact. Knowing how Ebola spreads is half the fight. World Vision has reached more than 400,000 people with our prevention programs. In DRC, I attended sessions with faith leaders and community members who are helping to overcome misinformation about Ebola by building understanding about how it is spread and teaching and equipping people who are at high risk to protect themselves. The international community has made good progress and the rate of new cases is slowing, but there is still a lot of work to be done. We’ve seen throughout this crisis that a small lapse can spark a new outbreak and another escalation. We are still concerned that this current Ebola outbreak could worsen and even spill across international borders. We need to be even more vigilant. What lessons can we learn from this Ebola outbreak in the DRC? Beyond health awareness and prevention, we
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28 A mother and baby have their temperature taken at an Ebola screening checkpoint in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 3,000 people have contracted the Ebola virus in eastern DRC, making the outbreak the second largest in history.
need to recognize that Ebola is a symptom of more than two decades of conflict that has led to persistent instability and has put a heavy strain on a weak health system. This limits the effectiveness of local responders to be able to meet the basic needs of the people. What’s happening in the DRC reflects a global trend and should be considered a warning. Over the next decade, 80 per cent of the world’s poorest people will live in fragile and conflict-affected places. Most will be children. This threatens global security, gender equality, stability and well-being. They face extreme levels of abuse, exploitation, deprivation and violence. They experience the highest levels of food insecurity, malnutrition and mortality rates, and are nearly three times more likely to be out of school than other children. This is the kind of environment where Ebola thrives. As one of the world’s largest nongovernmental organizations, we understand the urgency for new action, greater funding and innovative approaches to programming in these fragile contexts. Experience has shown us that we need to make sure children, families and communities have the life-saving essentials they need to survive and rebuild. They need to identify risks for the future as a way to recover and adapt and increase the resilience of children and communities to build a better future. It means that we still meet immediate humanitarian needs while also addressing root causes to transform communities. We understand fragile places change unpredictably and constantly. And we need to find new interventions as they change. World Vision Canada hopes our federal government and the international community will prioritize children living in the world’s most dangerous places. We know Canadian assistance is already helping to improve the lives of children and we’re ready to build on that partnership. Investing in the rights of children to be healthy, educated, protected and empowered will help to build communities that are better equipped to fight diseases such as Ebola and to stop the next outbreak before it starts.
Michael Messenger is the president and CEO of World Vision Canada. He has visited many of the world’s most fragile places, including DRC, Afghanistan, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, to raise awareness of the needs of the world’s most vulnerable children.
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