Ebola vaccine reaches epicenter of Congo outbreak as officials race to contain spread

Kinshasa, Congo – Limited access and required funding are the main challenges facing health officials trying to respond to the last Ebola epidemic in southern Congo, the World Health Organization announced on Friday.

It is the first epidemic of Ebola in 18 years in the province of Kasai, part distant from the Congo with bad road networks, which is more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of the national capital of Kinshasa.

A United Nations peacekeeping helicopter has been used to help provide 400 doses of epicenter vaccines in the locality of Bulape on Friday, Patrick Otim, program director of the program, told a briefing in Geneva.

1,500 additional doses will be sent by the capital of Kinshasa, he said.

“We have had difficulties in the past seven days with access, but now collaborate with Monusco (United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Congo),” said Otim.

While the WHO and Congolese authorities have “increased efforts to have a large-scale response” in the field, “we have to be able to pay operations,” he added.

Since the epidemic was confirmed on September 4, the number of suspicious cases increased from 28 to 68, the African Health Agency announced on Thursday. Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC, has so far reported 16 deaths.

Otim said the most recent confirmed case was located 70 kilometers (43 miles) of the current epicenter. “Our concern is that if we get cases in the other health area, we must develop and it will be at high intensity of resources,” he said.

The expected WHO cost for the current epidemic over the next three months is $ 20 million while Congo’s national response plan is estimated at $ 78 million, OTIM said.

A major concern was the impact of recent American financing reductions. The United States had supported the response to the past epidemics of Ebola in Congo, including in 2021, when the American agency for international development provided up to $ 11.5 million to support efforts across Africa.