WHO Says Deadly Congo Ebola Outbreak Can Be Contained

The World Health Organization (WHO) believes that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be brought under control within three months. This is the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country’s history; the virus has recently spread to a sixth province, and measures taken so far to contain it have proven insufficient.

WHO Incident Manager Thierno Balde emphasized that the success of the three-month plan depends on sufficient resources. However, funding falls short of what is needed. The WHO has only 60% of the requested $115m at its disposal.

Despite the lack of funding, measures are being stepped up, and 400 new hospital beds have been added in the affected areas over the past two weeks.

On Tuesday, the WHO Emergency Committee met to discuss the next steps in managing the outbreak, which the UN agency declared a global health emergency in May. The WHO formally designated the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in May

(Reuters, max)