Democratic Republic of the Congo: The country that knows how to beat Ebola

 

December 2014

In DRC there was long experience with Ebola – this was the seventh outbreak of the disease here. The country had the knowledge and the people needed to stop an outbreak – plus strong technical assistance and support from WHO.

Ebola awareness campaign with community leaders in Djera,
 Democratic Republic of the Congo, on hand hygiene, safe
burials during the Ebola outbreak.

WHO DRC/Eugene Kabambi

The year 2014 saw 2 parallel outbreaks of Ebola virus disease in Africa. The West African outbreak – which began in December 2013 and mainly affects Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – continues to this day. A separate and unrelated outbreak in Boende, Equateur Province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – first reported to WHO on 24 August – was officially declared at an end on 21 November, less than 3 months later.

How did the DRC end its outbreak so quickly?

“In DRC there was long experience with Ebola – this was the seventh outbreak of the disease here. The country had the knowledge and the people needed to stop an outbreak – plus strong technical assistance and support from WHO,” says Dr Joseph Waogodo Cabore, WHO Representative to DRC. “It is an impressive achievement, considering that overall, the country’s health system has serious weaknesses.”
Those weaknesses include a severe shortage of doctors, nurses and other health workers; and uneven coverage across the country for basic services like immunization and maternal care. “Preparedness for Ebola is another matter, however,” Dr Cabore says. “The well-coordinated response to the recent Ebola outbreak shows that when national authorities set priorities and stick to them, extraordinary things can happen within a health system.”

"The well-coordinated response to the recent Ebola outbreak shows that when national authorities set priorities and stick to them, extraordinary things can happen within a health system."

Dr Cabore, WHO Representative, DRC

As soon as the Ebola outbreak was discovered in Boende in August, the country’s Minister of Health, Dr Félix Kabange Numbi Mukwampa, made a personal visit to the district with Dr Cabore to assess the situation and take leadership. The 2 visits he undertook within the first month of the outbreak were a great opportunity to motivate the personnel at the front, sensitize the population and advocate with local authorities.

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