‘We will all die from Ebola here’: Virus stalks crowded camps in Congo
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading rapidly through crowded displacement camps in Ituri province. Health workers face significant challenges, including poor sanitary conditions, violence, and a lack of access to medical facilities.
Why it matters
The outbreak is the second-worst on record and highlights the extreme vulnerability of displaced populations to infectious diseases in conflict zones.
F our deaths happened in just 24 hours. The families were told they needed to bury the bodies themselves. Workers at the morgue were too busy to help. Nineteen people had already died in the camp that month, many more than usual.
Here in the camps dotted around Ituri province, the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the virus appears to be spreading among the cramped tents that house more than one million displaced Congolese.
Despite an influx of aid and health workers since the outbreak was first officially declared in May, the battle against Ebola remains a staggering challenge – and the camps are a stark example. Sanitary conditions are dire. Access to basic nutrition is limited. Patients vanish down winding alleys. Tracing people who may be infected is a Sisyphean task.
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