Ebola spreads across the DRC as violence in the east limits health response
Forced displacement caused by violence is hampering efforts to contain the spread of the highly contagious disease.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing a new wave of Ebola amid particularly challenging circumstances in the eastern part of the country, where armed conflict and the presence of rebel groups are limiting the ability of both the government and the Church to respond to the outbreak.
During a visit to the international headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), in Germany, Fr Olivier Ndondo, Provincial Superior of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament in the DRC and Uganda, explained that the country is currently confronting a new onslaught of the disease, which first appeared in 1976.
While the authorities have acted swiftly to diagnose cases, contain infections and prevent wider transmission across much of the country, the situation is particularly serious in the east, where insecurity makes access to affected areas extremely difficult.
“It is very difficult to get there because of the war,” the priest explained, noting that the government struggles to reach certain areas and provide healthcare services.
The challenge of controlling the disease is compounded by the forced displacement of populations caused by violence. As people flee to other regions, the risk of spreading the virus increases. Both in the east and in the northeast, along the border with Uganda, the constant movement of people presents a major challenge.
According to Fr Ndondo, the situation on the Ugandan side of the border appears to be under better control because the authorities can intervene more easily. However, movement between the two countries continues to complicate efforts to contain the outbreak.
“On one side, they have to deal with the conflict, but they also have the disease to contend with,” the priest summarised.
The Church’s Response
Amid the crisis, the Church plays a particularly important role and is responding with the resources available: welcoming displaced people, providing emergency assistance, raising awareness about Ebola and calling for solidarity with communities in eastern DRC.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the DRC has issued a statement aimed at increasing awareness of Ebola and encouraging people to act responsibly and observe hygiene and health measures to prevent further infections.
“The Church in the east is facing both emergencies, the war and the epidemic, with the resources it has and whatever support it can mobilise,” Fr Ndondo explained, though certain local customs related to funeral rites, which can involve physical contact with bodies, are complicating prevention efforts.
Development and Peace
“Peace and health” are closely linked, Fr Ndondo stressed, adding that without peace, it becomes more difficult to protect health, and without health, it becomes even harder to rebuild hope among a population marked by decades of violence.”
The violence also has a profound psychological and social impact. Without peace, he explained, people are unable to work, send their children to school or maintain adequate health conditions. “With war, we lose hope.”
The priest pointed out that some people in the DRC have spent their entire lives in a context of conflict: “There are people who were born 30 years ago and have known nothing but war.”
The current mix of health and security crises affects the entire Congolese population. Even in Kinshasa, the capital, the cost is evident, both in the economic burden it places on the government and in its human consequences, including deaths, kidnappings, hunger and displacement.
