New British aid has just been announced. It aims to equip the burial teams of the victims of the Ebola virus disease in the North Kivu province in DR Congo. According to Minister Harriet Baldwin, this funding will allow the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) to organize safe and dignified burials.

« The bodies of Ebola victims are particularly contagious, with the transmission of the disease often occurring at funerals where people help wash their loved ones before burial. Burials are a matter of dispute in the DRC, the victims of Ebola being placed in body bags and can not be touched », said an official statement of May 27, 2019 reached Zoom Eco.

Indeed, thanks to this support from DFID, the IFRC burial teams will have the necessary equipment, namely: gloves, hand disinfectants, masks, protective gowns, safety goggles, decontamination sprays, stretchers and ropes, as well as bio-risk body bags.

This week in Butembo I saw first-hand the extraordinary bravery of all those working to end this #Ebola outbreak. Deeply saddened to hear that a Congolese hygienist has been killed at work in eastern DRC.
Health workers are #NotATarget.#heroesofhealth pic.twitter.com/0znQeBtuqO

— Harriett Baldwin (@hbaldwin) May 29, 2019

Also, says the release, newly introduced body bags will also come with a clear plastic window so that family members can see their beloved buried.

« The situation on the ground in the DRC is extremely precarious. Health workers operate in a dangerous environment, but there is also a lot of mistrust within the community, with some believing that Ebola is not real. We need to help change that », said British Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin.

Elhadj As Sy, secretary-general of the International Federation of the Red Cross, said the epidemic has reached a critical point in the DRC. This requires increased mobilization of efforts to contain, control and end this epidemic.

To him to specify: « the commitment and the responsibility of the community will be essential for an effective answer. We thank the British government for its support. This will enable Red Cross volunteers – all from the affected region – to maintain their commitment to communities, understand their fears and concerns, and adapt our response accordingly and appropriately. »

On the height of this UK funding, the statement said the DRC government has asked donors not to announce specific funding figures to avoid running a risk of further attack on health workers on field.

.@DFID_UK is working to tackle the Ebola outbreak in #DRC, here’s how:
•We’ve supported the development of a new experimental Ebola vaccine;
•We’re working to ensure safe + dignified burials;
•And, we’re deploying epidemiologists through our Public Health Rapid Support Teams. pic.twitter.com/UcyKNrokUf

— Matthew Rycroft (@MatthewRycroft1) May 27, 2019

As a reminder, the DRC is fighting the second-largest epidemic in the history of Ebola and the first in a conflict zone, with more than 70 armed groups operating in the east of the country. The number of cases has exceeded 1,800 and the number of deaths has exceeded 1,200.

The World Health Organization estimates that the risk of regional spread is very high, especially for neighboring countries (South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi).

Eric TSHIKUMA