A nurse was killed and a health worker severely injured after reportedly being attacked by a group of young people with machetes while responding to an Ebola alert in Congo. The attack took place on Saturday in the town of Bafwasende in the country’s eastern Tshopo province.
Attacks hamper Ebola response
The assault came after several other attacks on health workers and responders that authorities say are hampering efforts to slow the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the world. Authorities said the two workers were targeted by a group with machetes and batons, who accused them of spreading Ebola by contaminating water sources.
World Health Organisation (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X on Sunday: "Everyone working to protect communities from this deadly disease must be able to work in dignity and safety. Healthcare must always be protected."
WHO condemns violence
WHO regional director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, also condemned the attack on X. "Misinformation and fear must never fuel violence," he said.
The country’s health ministry’s most recent data indicates more than 9,800 cases, including more than 4,700 deaths, have been recorded since the start of the outbreak in May, making it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in Congo’s history.
Previous incidents
In another attack that took place last month, a Congolese politician was beaten to death in North Kivu after publicly defending the government’s response to Ebola. He had been calling on the public to obey response measures, particularly social distancing and handwashing, on a radio show.
Back in May, at the start of the outbreak, two tents at health centres were set alight in two separate attacks in just one week by angry residents. It is understood that local authorities recently faced resistance from some residents who dismissed Ebola as a hoax.
Impact on response efforts
Responders say scepticism about the disease among communities has complicated efforts to work with residents, including in remote areas and emerging hot spots that already face shortages of medical supplies and healthcare workers.
After the attack on Saturday, Julien Harneis, the UN's senior Ebola coordinator, said the nurse's death was "a loss to the Ebola response and an even greater loss to patients".
Cases of Ebola were also recorded in Kenya and Nigeria. In Kenya, so far, there have been nine cases and two deaths. Cases of Ebola were also reported earlier this year, in May and June, in Uganda. In August, however, the WHO declared the country free of the virus.
