Via Digitalcongo.net: Ebola Response Coordinator Welcomes Commitment of Beni Residents. The full report and then a comment:
The coordinator of the response to the outbreak of Ebola, Dr. Bathé Ndjoloko Tambwe on Tuesday congratulated the people of Beni who are increasingly committed to the teams of the response, said a statement from the Ministry received Wednesday at the ACP.
For several weeks, specifies the source, a greater commitment of the community is observed. Several families presented themselves to the Ebola treatment center (ETC) when one of them was ill. Even in the event of a community death or outside of an approved health facility, families call on emergency teams to take samples and perform a dignified and secure burial.
One of the confirmed cases of Beni reported to date was identified thanks to the motorcycle taxi driver who was transporting him to go to Butembo. When he was stopped in a parking lot in Beni, the driver noticed that his client was showing suspicious signs.
At one of the exit points of the city, the driver then alerted the surveillance teams posted at this location. These teams then sensitized the client of the motorcycle taxi driver and convinced her to accompany them to the treatment center. The test result was positive and she was admitted to the CTE.
The source reports that "Mai-Mai" militiamen have agreed, after lengthy negotiations, to let the response team enter the territory occupied by them in order to vaccinate them. This gesture is hailed as a remarkable step forward in community engagement in these hard-to-reach areas.
Since the beginning of the vaccination, according to the source, 17,976 people have been vaccinated, including 7,620 in Beni, 4,391 in Mabalako, 1,663 in Mandima, 1,392 in Katwa, 1,085 in Butembo, 520 in Masereka, 434 in Bunia, 355 in Tchomia, 240 in Komanda, 121 in Oicha, 105 in Kalunguta and 50 in Musienene.
The agreement with the Mai-Mai is welcome and also, once achieved, painfully obvious: why weren't MOH officials in touch with the Mai-Mai, ADF, and other armed groups as soon as the nature of the epidemic was understood? Even if negotiations failed, it would have been worth making the effort.
