The World Health Organisation chief has called on communities in the centre of the Congo's latest Ebola outbreak to play a central role in fighting the disease.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo to co-ordinate the response to the Ebola outbreak, for which 1028 suspected cases had been recorded by Friday, according to Congolese authorities.
"The communities understand the problems better and they know the solution as well," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters after arriving in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri, a hotspot of the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
"Yes, the international community is involved, under the leadership of the government of DRC. At the same time, community ownership is important. That's why we are here to discuss with the community to see how the response is running and, if there are challenges, to help."
The Bundibugyo virus, the current kind of Ebola, has no approved treatment or vaccine.
“This is a difficult situation, and we recognise that. But the Democratic Republic of Congo has faced the Ebola virus many times before. We are confident that it can once again bring this outbreak under control,” Dr Tedros told reporters after meeting with Congo's Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka.
On arrival in Kinshasa on Thursday, Tedros called for more international support for the Ebola response, saying WHO had so far received only a third of its funding requirements.
Medical aid donated by the European Union arrived in Ituri, the heart of Congo’s Ebola outbreak, on Thursday, with more shipments expected over the next eight days. The US announced $US80 million in additional aid on the same day, bringing its total commitment to more than $US112 million.
French aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned the latest Ebola outbreak - the 17th since 1976 - was spreading at an unprecedented pace.
"Never before has an Ebola outbreak recorded so many cases so soon after its declaration," Alan Gonzalez, MSF deputy director of operations, said in a statement.
The number of expert medical organisations responding to the outbreak on the ground, as well as the level of support being provided to fight the outbreak, is still far short of what is required, Gonzalez added.
“Nobody knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak,” he said.
with AP
