Ebola is spreading faster than the emergency response in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Nations officials said on Friday. Since the outbreak was declared on 15 May, health authorities have recorded 5,290 infections and 2,516 deaths, giving a fatality rate of 47.6 per cent. Julien Harneis, the UN Senior Ebola Coordinator, said funding could run out within weeks. He warned that every delay makes the epidemic deadlier, harder to stop and more expensive.
Speaking from Bunia, in Ituri province, he said half of all deaths occurred in the past 20 days. Conditions for frontline teams are brutal: 160 healthcare workers have been infected and 43 have died, while ambulances were burned and clinics attacked. Poor roads, weak services and a barely functioning banking system make it hard to pay staff. The United States has given $80 million to the government, but aid cuts have reduced humanitarian capacity by more than 30 per cent.