DCA DR Congo
A health clinic operated by DanChurchAid’s Congolese partner organisation in eastern DR Congo is located right at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak. The clinic is not designed to handle this type of virus – but from mid-May, patients with Ebola symptoms suddenly began to appear.
This has put both patients and staff under immense pressure.
“We started seeing patients with symptoms – and some of them were from the same family. That made us very worried,” says a spokesperson from the clinic, who is anonymised for security reasons.
The fear quickly grew:
“At first, we worked without the proper protection – because we didn’t have access to protective equipment or what else was needed. But people were sick, so we had to treat them. When you’ve been close to a patient who dies, you think: Am I infected too? Have I brought it home to my family?”
With support from DanChurchAid, the clinic has been reorganised to handle the infection safely: patients are screened on arrival, suspected cases are isolated, and hygiene and protective measures have been strengthened. Among other things, protective gear, cleaning equipment, and hand sanitiser have been purchased to make both patients and staff safer.
Information is crucial
At the same time, the situation outside the clinic is marked by fear, mistrust, and rumours.
When there is suspicion that a person has died from Ebola, the body must be handled in a special way, as the risk of infection remains very high. However, in the area there are very specific burial rituals that are extremely important to the local population. As a result, relatives become distressed and desperate when they are suddenly unable to have their family members’ bodies returned to them.
Therefore, DanChurchAid also supports an intensive awareness campaign in the local community. The national partner already has a strong network of young people and religious leaders who are helping. Through loudspeaker announcements, radio spots, and social media, simple, life-saving messages are communicated:
“We repeat it again and again: Wash your hands. Seek help. Do not touch the deceased.”
Fortunately, the organisation is seeing signs that attitudes are beginning to change. As people witness first-hand how the disease develops, more and more are starting to follow the guidelines.