Aid cuts left DRC blind to Ebola – Oxfam is mounting a response

Reacting to the World Health Organization's declaration of the Ebola outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) - with over 400 cases and 89 deaths confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo - Dr. Manenji Mangudu, Oxfam Country Director in the DRC, said:

"Our partners are sending us deeply alarming reports. One doctor in Mongwalu Health Zone, Ituri told us: 'There are already deaths in the community. When people die at home, it means there are many more undetected cases. Yesterday alone, we had 15 confirmed cases in isolation. By the time patients reach us, it is often too late to save them.' With millions lacking access to functioning health facilities, this novel strain risks an already catastrophic crisis over the edge.

"This outbreak is hitting a country already stretched to breaking point. Ongoing conflict and years of aid cuts have deepened a humanitarian crisis of staggering scale: One in four people are going hungry. Those same aid cuts left DRC effectively blind to Ebola, weakening the surveillance systems that should have detected this outbreak weeks earlier.

"Oxfam and its partners are mounting an emergency response in Ituri, providing clean water, sanitation and health awareness to affected communities. But this crisis is arriving at a moment of critically depleted humanitarian funding. Without urgent financial assistance, efforts to save lives risk being fatally undermined."

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