Ebola case in rebel-held Goma complicates aid in Congo | Today’s news
(Bloomberg) — An Ebola case detected in Goma, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo seized by Rwanda-backed rebels last year, shows how conflict and dilapidated infrastructure could hamper efforts to contain the virus.
A woman in Goma has tested positive for Ebola, AFP reported, citing Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, known by its French acronym INRB. The patient was “almost certainly infected by her husband, who died in Bunia,” the provincial capital at the epicenter of the current outbreak, Muyembe said.
Goma, a city of about 800,000 people, has long served as a humanitarian hub for eastern Congo, housing aid agencies and warehouses of medical supplies. But the closure of its airport by M23 rebels has crippled aid efforts across the region.
This challenge is becoming more urgent. Congo’s INRB has testing capacity in both Kinshasa and Goma, but moving samples, medical teams and supplies across eastern Congo is difficult even in peacetime. Bunia is usually reached by humanitarian flights from Goma or Entebbe, Uganda, while commercial airlines are sparse and often only operate a few times a week.
Supplies, personal protective equipment, “medicines, personnel will be needed in Goma if the outbreak continues there,” Liam Kelly, head of the EU’s Ugandan office for civil protection and humanitarian aid, said in a post on X.
Aid groups are increasingly concerned about how quickly the epidemic appears to be spreading. MSF said it was concerned about the number of Ebola cases and deaths its teams had recorded “in such a short time frame” in Ituri province, where the virus has spread across several health zones and across borders.
“In Ituri, many people are already struggling to access healthcare and live in constant uncertainty, so it is critical to act quickly to prevent the epidemic from escalating further,” said Trish Newport, MSF’s Emergency Program Manager.
Under normal conditions, Bunia is about an hour’s flight from Goma. Kinshasa is much further – roughly three hours away if the flight is direct. This makes the closure of Goma airport a major obstacle to any rapid response.
The Ministry of Health has sent planes to Bunia, but aid workers say transport and coordination will still be a problem while the M23 controls key infrastructure in the east.
The M23’s political wing did not immediately respond to an email and phone call on Monday.
M23 resumed insurgency in 2021, saying it was protecting the rights of Congolese Tutsis and other Rwandan language speakers. Congo says the group and its backers are mainly interested in the region’s mineral wealth, which includes tin, tantalum and gold.
“Significant uncertainties remain about the extent of transmission and the outbreak may be larger than currently recognized,” the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said on Monday. “Response efforts are further challenged by insecurity and humanitarian issues in the affected areas.”
M23 has occupied eastern Congo’s two largest cities, Goma and Bukavu, since last year.
Subscribe to the Next Africa Daily Newsletter here and subscribe to the Next Africa Podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.
More such stories are available at bloomberg.com
