Health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are threatening to abandon the Ebola response due to unpaid wages and deadly risk. The Ebola outbreak in the DRC has infected at least 3,874 people and killed 1,751, according to the Congolese health ministry.
Unpaid Wages and Deadly Risk
Micheline Kayimpa, a nurse at the Elikya Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia, has yet to receive a single government paycheck despite working on the front line of the outbreak. Kayimpa is among dozens of health workers who have protested delayed wages and threatened to boycott work.
The World Health Organization says the outbreak is now the largest Ebola outbreak ever reported in the DRC. The outbreak was jointly detected in both the DRC and neighboring Uganda, but Uganda has since declared itself Ebola-free.
Challenges in Containing the Outbreak
The response is already struggling to keep pace, and the threat of healthcare workers walking out in protest has made the situation even more dire. The outbreak is caused by the less common Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no proven vaccines and treatment options remain limited.
Ongoing fighting in eastern DRC has also made it harder for health workers to reach affected communities. Aid agencies say mistrust, misinformation about Ebola, and resistance to restrictions on traditional burial practices have fueled hostility toward health workers and complicated efforts to contain the outbreak.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
