from JEAN KASSONGO in Kinshasa, DRC
DRC Bureau
KINSHASA, (CAJ News) – REVELATIONS that 25 percent of confirmed deaths from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are children highlight the urgent need to scale up health services and infection prevention measures to protect minors.
This is according to Save the Children following the latest government figures released on Wednesday.
Children account for 25 percent of the 17 confirmed deaths. It is feared the real number of cases is likely to be significantly higher, as this figure only includes children under the age of 15 and only confirmed cases.
Of these deaths, 14 percent are children under the age of five.
Some 1 077 people are now suspected of contracting Ebola, with 238 suspected deaths recorded since the outbreak was declared on May 15.
It is the largest Ebola epidemic in the DRC in recent history.
Dr Babou Rukengeza, Save the Children’s Ebola Response Lead in the DRC, said, “This outbreak is moving at a terrifying speed.”
The official said they had responded to several Ebola outbreaks over the years, but this was the fastest spread they had ever witnessed.
“Children are paying a devastating price, making up at least one in four confirmed deaths, although we suspect the numbers are far higher.”
Rukengeza said when parents died, children suddenly lost the biggest support system they could possibly have and faced fear, grief, stigma and social exclusion.
“In addition, this crisis is unfolding at a critical moment when children are preparing for their end-of-year examinations, threatening not only their health but also their future.”
Ebola adds to the conflict in the DRC, creating one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with 5,6 million people, including about 2,5 million children, internally displaced while 15 million people require humanitarian assistance.
– CAJ News