WFP suspends Ebola work in Congo over breaches as death toll hits 2,199

CONGO – The World Food Programme(WFP), a sister organisation of the United Nations says it has temporarily suspended distribution of relief materials to people hit with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo following security breaches which has resulted in the death of some members of the Ebola Response team.

WFP said it could no longer guarantee the security of staff on the ground hence the need to suspend operation “because both our staff – and more importantly the staff of the partners who are working with us on the ground – the security was not guaranteed anymore, and the access was very difficult”, WFP spokesman, Hervé Verhoosel said in a statement.

Consequently “thousands of people will not receive food assistance in the coming days,” he added. 

According to UNHCR, Beni town is home to around 500,000 people. “We understand there’s at least 275,000 people in the surrounding areas who’ve already been displaced, and conditions are quite dire and deteriorating,” UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Charlie Yaxley added.

As of 26 November, WHO said, a total of 3,304 cases of Ebola have been reported, of which 2,199 people have died since the outbreak was declared on 1 August 2018.

The UN said attacks by gunmen on Ebola outbreak hotspot in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have sparked  humanitarian crisis and threatened aid distribution.

It added that tensions in eastern Beni territory in DRC’s North Kivu province has been on the rise since the launch of a Government-led security operation against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on 30 October.

Armed groups have been targeting civilians and displaced populations in the region, killing scores of people and leaving others “caught in the crossfire”, UNHCR spokesman said, adding that some groups of people were “trapped” surrounded by armed forces and facing “ongoing attacks against schools (and) health centres.

Condemning the violence, the WHO appealed for the “constant” attacks to stop, otherwise, it will reverse significant progress made against the epidemic, with  infections falling to just a handful in recent weeks. 

Earlier this month in the town of Lwemba, Ituri province, attackers killed an Ebola response community health worker and left his wife critically injured before burning down their home.