The epidemic of Ebola continues to spread fast. There have been over 7,000 recorded cases and 3,400 deaths – a death rate of 50%. There have now been cases in over 60 health districts in seven provinces of DRC. The seventh province detected its first case in a man who travelled from DRC through Uganda and Rwanda back into DRC, illustrating how quickly and easily the disease can be spread by someone in the early stages of the disease, or from a body being moved for burial hundreds of kilometers. The continued spread illustrates how much aid cuts have lessened the response to an epidemic that should have been better controlled when it first started. As a letter to the Financial Times commented: With this Ebola outbreak, for the first time we are seeing in real time how deadly infectious diseases spread in the context of aid cuts.
The epidemic has been far quicker and caused far more deaths than in the West Africa and DRC epidemics. For more context you might like to listen to a recent podcast that Christian Concerns for One World had with Nigel. Most of our hospitals have had Ebola cases that have been referred to the Ebola Treatment Centres. Three of our nurses and a doctor were placed under quarantine but did not show signs of infection. One nurse was admitted with Ebola but thankfully was discharged having recovered.
The better news is there a slight decrease in transmission in areas where it had been most intense, including in and around Bunia town (which has been the epicentre for cases, see above map). But Semilki has been responding!
Thanks to your great support (and support of ECHO) we have sent a £12,600 consignment of kit and PPE. This was purchased from Medical Aid International who added in large quantites of free masks and key equipment. The kit was distributed across 20 different sites. Our teams report that the Infrared thermometers were of much better quality than the ones source locally, and keep going with repeated changes of batteries. The reusable surgical gowns Medaid supplied have been sterilised countless times and are still being used.
We also sent $13,500 to DRC that was divided up across the seven coordination sites. This enabled them to rapidly puchase thousands of gloves and masks to protect the teams. They’ve all reported back and were hugely relieved to receive both the kit and the cash, enabling them to rapidly respond. They have also organised hundreds of meetings to raise awareness of how people can avoid catching the disease.
But to keep staff and patients safe they need much more. We want to send another $12,000 they can use to buy gloves, masks, and continue training.
Donate to keep front line health staff safe. Or send donations direct to the Semiliki Bank Account, and mark donations ‘BeatEbola‘. Sort code 40-44-04, Acc # 81890689. Your regular support helps us address many other needs, including a very large, out-of-control cholera outbreak in Bukavu town and South Kivu province.
Dr Raymond sent, on behalf of all the front line medical teams, his thanks to you all for your generosity:
On behalf of the Senior Leadership of the Anglican Church of Congo, the National Medical Service Office, and all the Diocesan Medical Service Coordinating Committees of the dioceses of Aru, Boga, Beni, North Kivu, Kamango, and Bukavu, we express our deep and sincere gratitude to our strategic partners, Semuliki Trust and Medical Aid.
