A World Health Organization official said on Tuesday it has received less than half the funding it needs to fight the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, calling on donors not to abandon the country at a critical moment in the epidemic.
The global health agency has received about 40 percent of its $115 million appeal to counter the Bundibugyo outbreak for which there is no proven treatment or vaccine. Already, at least 1,926 people have been infected and 702 have died, government data shows.
"This outbreak requires resources that match the scale of the challenges that we are facing. And this is not not a burden DRC can be allowed to carry alone,” Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva after a visit to the worst-hit province of Ituri.
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Ihekweazu said it was a critical moment in the response where more action was needed to detect and isolate patients in order to cap the number of cases which this week spread to two new provinces.
“It’s a bit like a marathon. you can't give up after the first lap or the second. You just have to keep pushing even when you're getting tired and exhausted," he said.
He repeated estimates that the true number of Ebola cases in Congo is at least double, and possibly over four times the official tally.
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(Filming, editing, production: Cecile Mantovani. Writing: Emma Farge)