Ebola can no longer be called an incurable disease, scientists have said, after two of four drugs being trialled in the major outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were found to have significantly reduced the death rate.
In a development that transforms the fight against Ebola, two experimental treatments are working so well that they will now be offered to all patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo, scientists announced on Monday.
Financial donations can help rescue teams respond to the epidemic as quickly and effectively as possible. If you’re concerned about the Ebola outbreak, but not sure how to help, there are many organizations working to assist those at risk in the DRC.
The issues addressed urgently following these emergencies are often the most visible: lack of food and water, obvious hazardous conditions, and the immediate needs of survivors. However, a quieter and consequential issue that can be unintentionally overlooked is mental health.
The International Medical Corps is an astounding organization that I have worked with for 10 years now as an ambassador and I have traveled far and wide—to the Congo, Haiti, Lebanon and Ethiopia. I went to South Sudan to see the effects that years of conflict, disease and malnutrition are having on the communities there.
From childhood, Mulyanza Huguette was strong and lithe and loved to run long distances near her home in Butembo, in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
On Monday, the Silicon Valley technology giant announced disease prevention maps – a set of maps available to health organisations and NGOs showing information like the movement of people and population density to help them understand people’s activity, with the aim of learning how epidemics might appear and evolve, and how best to tackle them.
It’s been three weeks since a fierce tropical cyclone tore through Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, killing hundreds and leaving 600,000 people displaced. Now, as cholera begins to spread among the victims of Cyclone Idai, relief workers are worried a “second disaster” is on the horizon.
Nyabong Puok is a 35-year-old South Sudanese mother of six living in Jewi Refugee Camp, in Ethiopia’s Gambella region. She is one of thousands of South Sudanese who fled their homes seeking a safe place where they and their families could settle and start a new life.
Flooding following Cyclone Idai has left hundreds dead and more than 100,000 displaced in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi.