Ebola Outbreak Declared Global Health Emergency In DR Congo

After more than 1600 deaths have been recorded since August 2018, the World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the global emergency.

The Director-General, of the united nation health organisation, Tedros Ghebreyesus, made the declaration after meeting with the Emergency Committee in Geneva on Wednesday.

According to him, the committee’s agreement on the Ebola declaration followed recent developments in the outbreak including the first confirmed case in Goma, a city of almost two million people on the border with Rwanda, and the gateway to the rest of DRC and the world.

“It is time for the world to take notice and redouble our efforts. We need to work together in solidarity with the DRC to end this outbreak and build a better health system,” said Dr. Tedros.

“Extraordinary work has been done for almost a year under the most difficult circumstances. We all owe it to these responders coming from not just WHO but also government, partners and communities to shoulder more of the burden.”

This is the fourth meeting of the Emergency Committee since the outbreak was declared on 1 August 2018 in North Kivu Province of the country.