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The second-worst Ebola outbreak in history in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was officially declared a public health emergency of international concern on Wednesday, with the head of the World Health Organization calling on countries to “take notice and redouble their efforts”.
As the first anniversary of the complex outbreak in the country’s restive east approaches, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was time to “stand in solidarity with the Democratic Republic of the Congo to end this outbreak and build better health systems for its people.”
So far, more than 2,500 cases of infection and nearly 1,670 deaths have been reported in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, where multiple armed groups and a lack of local trust have hampered efforts to control the outbreak.
“Over the past year, we have done an extraordinary job under the most difficult circumstances,” Tedros told the fourth meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee at the United Nations in Geneva. “We have a responsibility to hold these responders – not just from WHO but also from governments, partners and communities – to even greater accountability,” he added.
What does an emergency declaration mean?
Under the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations, a binding legal agreement involving 196 countries around the world, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is defined as “an extraordinary event that constitutes a public health risk to other States, through the international spread of disease, and that may require a coordinated international response.”
This definition implies that:
- • Severe, sudden, unusual or unexpected.
- • Impacts on public health outside the affected country.
- • Immediate international action may be required.
According to the WHO statement, the committee “cited recent developments in the outbreak in its recommendations, including the first confirmed case in Goma, a city of nearly 2 million people located on the border with Rwanda and a gateway to the rest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the world.”
The Commission also issued specific conclusions and recommendations to the affected countries, their neighbours and all countries on how to respond to the outbreak.
Protecting livelihoods and keeping trade routes open
The committee also expressed disappointment at recent delays in securing more international funding for the fight against AIDS, which was constraining the fight.
Members also stressed the need to protect the livelihoods of those most affected by the pandemic by keeping transport routes and borders open. “Travel and trade restrictions that lead to punitive economic consequences for affected communities must be avoided,” the experts said.
“It is imperative that the world follows these recommendations. It is also important that countries do not use (the declaration) as an excuse to impose trade or travel restrictions, as this would have a negative impact on the response and on the lives and livelihoods of people in the region,” said Professor Robert Steffen, chair of the commission.
On Monday, Mark Lowcock, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the outbreak would not be effectively controlled without a “substantially scaled-up response.” The first case was reported in neighboring Uganda last month, although the infected family arrived across the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Since announcing the outbreak a year ago, the World Health Organization has classified the outbreak as a Level 3 emergency, the most serious level, and has activated the highest level of mobilization. The United Nations has also recognized the severity of the emergency and launched a “system-wide humanitarian expansion” to support the Ebola outbreak response.
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