Radio Moto Butembo-Beni is still not updating, but here's a new report from Radio Okapi: DRC Ebola Control: David Gressly Appointed UN Emergency Response Coordinator. The link in the text will take you to Gressly's Twitter account; he hasn't tweeted yet this year. Excerpt:
The Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the DRC, David Gressly, has been appointed as the United Nations Emergency Response Coordinator for Ebola (EERC) in Ebola-affected areas in the DRC.
According to a UN statement released on Thursday (May 23rd), Gressly will also work to create a supportive environment, particularly in terms of security and political climate, to enable the Ebola response to be even more effective.
"The Ebola response is evolving in an operational environment of unprecedented complexity for a public health emergency; Insecurity and political protests have regularly disrupted our efforts to fight the disease. Therefore, a strengthened UN-wide response is needed to overcome these operational constraints, which involves moving senior officials and operational decision-making to the epicenter of the outbreak in Butembo. We have no time to lose," said Gressly.
As the UN's emergency response coordinator for Ebola, David Gressly will report to Special Representative Leila Zerrougui. He will work closely with WHO, which will continue to direct all health operations and technical support activities to the government's response to the epidemic.
Given the increasing complexity of the environment in which the response is evolving, the United Nations, in partnership with the Government and all partners, has decided to strengthen its political commitment and operational support.
The UN will need to negotiate access to communities, increase support for humanitarian coordination and strengthen preparedness and response capacity in Goma and neighboring countries.
In this same vein, the World Health Organization (WHO) is adapting its public health strategies to identify and treat people as quickly as possible, expand immunization to reach and protect more people, and redouble efforts to stop transmission in health facilities.
The UN Secretary-General has put in place a strengthened coordination and support mechanism in Butembo, the epicenter of the epidemic.
Mr. Ibrahima Socé Fall, Deputy Director General for Emergency Response, who has been based in Butembo since the end of March, is leading WHO's work in the DRC. WHO will also continue to coordinate public health interventions implemented by other United Nations partners.
