Communities at the Heart of Congo's Ebola Battle

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urges communities in Congo to be pivotal in combating the Ebola outbreak. Visiting the hotspot, he emphasizes community ownership in collaboration with international aid. MSF highlights the alarming spread of this 17th outbreak and calls for increased support.

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief has called upon local communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to play a central role in combating the latest Ebola outbreak. This appeal comes amid reports of over 1,000 suspected cases, a figure highlighted during WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's recent visit to the region.

Speaking from Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri, Tedros emphasized the importance of community involvement, stating that locals can better understand and solve the problems posed by the outbreak. He pointed out that while the international community is engaged under the DRC government's leadership, local ownership is crucial in addressing current challenges.

The director-general arrived in Kinshasa earlier and called for heightened international support. The aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns that the 17th Ebola outbreak since 1976 is spreading at an unprecedented rate, with the response efforts still inadequate to meet the necessary level of control.