The United Nations says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now killing one person every 30 minutes. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher has released an additional 30.5 million dollars for the response.
DR reports that the outbreak in the central African country has reached a point where the virus claims a life every half hour. The figure comes from a UN press release issued on August 14. Fletcher states in the release that Ebola is gaining ground and that the virus cannot be allowed to outpace the response.
According to the UN, 2,184 people have died with Ebola since the outbreak was officially declared on May 15. That corresponds to almost 47 percent of those infected. Authorities in DR Congo report at least 4,300 confirmed cases.
The new money comes from the UN emergency response fund and adds to 24 million dollars previously allocated to DR Congo and several neighboring countries. Combined, the sums correspond to roughly 352 million Danish kroner. Fletcher describes the situation as a wake-up call and calls for speed, scale and solidarity.
Ebola has now been registered in six of DR Congo’s 26 provinces and in neighboring Uganda, per the UN. Fletcher says a further 20 staff have been deployed to the hardest-hit areas. He adds that more personnel are still needed.
Lone Simonsen, professor of epidemiology at Roskilde University, tells DR that the current outbreak could become even worse. She points to case numbers roughly doubling every month and says the situation appears to be out of control. As she explains it, new cases are no longer linked to known chains of transmission, which undermines efforts to contain the virus.
The deadliest Ebola outbreak so far occurred in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, when at least 11,000 people died.
Other outlets and figures
Politiken, citing AFP, carries the same core figure of one death every half hour. The newspaper lists slightly different totals of 2,128 deaths and more than 4,500 confirmed infections. It also notes that countries have donated close to 300 million dollars to fight the outbreak.
Anadolu Agency reports that the 30.5 million dollars comes from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund. Fletcher told the agency that Ebola is winning in DR Congo. Case and death counts vary between sources because of different reporting cut-off dates.
The UN links the new allocation directly to the speed of the outbreak’s escalation. AP reported on August 5 that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned the outbreak was outpacing the response.
