Mothers in DRC avoid vital health care as Ebola spreads
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is causing women to avoid essential prenatal and maternal health care due to fear and misinformation. This has led to a sharp increase in maternal deaths and a decline in childhood immunizations.
Why it matters
The intersection of public health crises and misinformation is severely damaging the primary health-care infrastructure in the DRC, leading to preventable loss of life.
The fear of Ebola is keeping women and children from seeking health care in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), say health workers and aid agencies, contributing to soaring maternal deaths and falling childhood immunisation rates that could strain the health-care system for years to come.
Health workers say that misplaced anxiety about contact with Ebola is the primary reason women are forgoing crucial prenatal care and opting to give birth at home, and dying more often in the event of complications.
There is still limited data available but figures for Ituri province are raising alarm. UN figures show that maternal deaths in Ituri province soared nearly 70% between May and July compared with a year earlier, a troubling indicator of the effects of the Ebola outbreak — currently DRC’s worst on record — on the primary health-care system.
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