Towns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) affected by the latest Ebola outbreak have erected checkpoints to restrict population movements, officials said this week, as cases increased slightly and aid workers warned that the response was underfunded.

Last week, the DRC’s health ministry announced the country’s first Ebola outbreak in three years, with 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths. It is the first outbreak in the country’s Kasai province since 2008. Kasai’s Bulape zone, where the first case was reported, has been placed under quarantine, the provincial governor stated on Monday. Multiple checkpoints were established to stop residents from moving in and out of the area.

“The problem is that we’re afraid that the movement of people from Bulape could lead to contamination in other communities,” Francois Mingambengele, administrator of the Mweka territory, which includes Bulape, told Reuters on Tuesday. “Some are going into the bush to hide. It’s a crisis, and cases are multiplying,” Mingambengele stated, adding that there had been 51 suspected cases and 18 deaths. 

The latest statement from the health ministry in Kinshasa noted there were 32 suspected cases, 20 confirmed cases, and 16 deaths. Last week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that Congo had a stockpile of treatments, as well as 2,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which would be transported to Kasai to vaccinate contacts and frontline health workers.

Several aid workers have expressed concern that Congo, which has faced more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks, might struggle to mount an effective response this time, given recent cuts to foreign assistance and the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under President Donald Trump.

“Alongside other partners, USAID has established itself as a key pillar. This withdrawal will undoubtedly leave a void that will be difficult to fill,” one Congo-based international aid worker said, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals.

Save the Children Country Director, Greg Ramm, told Reuters, “The reduction in immediately available funds from key donors is already making it more challenging to respond quickly and reach the communities that need help.”

(Source: Reuters)