More than 500 people have died from the latest outbreak of Ebola in DR Congo, and a vaccination programme has prevented thousands more deaths. True as the numbers may be, There are claims that some have been demanding sexual favours in return for vaccination against the deadly disease. There is fear of exploitation by frontline workers who are helping to fight the disease. Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga said, “The teams also managed to contain its the spread of the epidemic to neighbouring countries.”
The outbreak started last August in the North Kivu region, which borders Uganda and Rwanda.
The Spanish wing of the aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported on Twitter Saturday that there had been a surge in cases since January 15. Gender based violence has been on an increase since the outbreak.
Women applying for Ebola response jobs were also met with recruiters who asked for sexual favours in return for employment. The health ministry, in order to prevent further exploitation, asked people to report any exchanges of Ebola vaccines for money. According to reports by NGOs, mistrust among health workers in DR Congo is widespread.
Ebola facts:
Ebola is a haemorrhagic fever. The first Ebola outbreak was reported in 1976. Patient zero was
In 2003, the fever killed more than 100 people in Congo.
The epidemic was officially found to be over, when Liberia was declared free of the disease in January 2016,
Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan, further north, were all now on alert. The security situation in the east of the country, where armed rebels have terrorised the population for years, has made treating the disease difficult.
