Post by Danish Refugee Council / Dansk Flygtningehjælp

What is easily missed in the ongoing #Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is that it’s happening inside a 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀. We see the medical emergency: Medical clinics and staff in full personal protective equipment doing their best to save lives. But what we don’t see is that the virus is spreading rapidly among millions of displaced people who are already trapped in active conflict zones and face horrific violence. There are about one million displaced people in Ituri – the epicenter of the outbreak. Many live in overcrowded displacement sites that are unsafe and ill equipped: Armed groups infiltrate these sites, subjecting women and girls to sexual violence and forcibly recruiting children. Meanwhile, people are told to wash their hands to stop the spread of the disease but there is a severe lack of clean water. Donor governments must urgently fund all components of this crisis – including water, sanitation, hygiene, surveillance, civilian protection, and supporting livelihoods – or the financial and human cost of containment will spiral out of control. Thanks to FRANCE 24 for highlighting how public health and civilian protection must go hand-in-hand: https://brnw.ch/21x3Qs7