Congo’s Ebola burial teams battle community anger, fatigue and fear of infection
Burial teams in Congo's Ituri province are struggling to manage Ebola-related deaths amid community hostility and physical exhaustion. These workers face backlash for enforcing strict burial protocols that prevent families from performing traditional rites.
Why it matters
The conflict between public health safety measures and cultural traditions highlights the significant challenges in containing deadly disease outbreaks in sensitive regions.
BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Yuma Adolphe and his team are responsible for the safe and dignified burial of some of the people who die from Ebola in Congo’s Ituri province, the epicenter of history’s deadliest Ebola outbreak. Nearly every day, they dig the graves, prepare the bodies and handle the coffins.
But as the authorities grapple with the outbreak, which has killed nearly 3,200 people among more than 6,600 confirmed cases, the burial team says they are at their limits, struggling with an increasing workload and hostile communities.
“It is difficult, but we try to push ourselves beyond our limits,” Adolphe told The Associated Press.
Since the outbreak began in mid-May, authorities have deployed small burial teams like Adolphe’s across the hot spots to handle the burials. Paid $20 a day, they are a part of a group of front-line workers who are working to contain the rapidly moving disease.
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