The negative feedback on the response of authorities and humanitarian organizations to the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is linked to its impact on the citizens' political freedoms, Joanne Liu, the international president of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) non-governmental organization, said during a press conference on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th March, 2019) The negative feedback on the response of authorities and humanitarian organizations to the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is linked to its impact on the citizens' political freedoms, Joanne Liu, the international president of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) non-governmental organization, said during a press conference on Thursday.
The election in several DRC cities dealing with the Ebola outbreak, including Beni and Butembo, was postponed until March. In other places, the general elections were held in December.
"Many of those with a negative view of the response feel that Ebola is being used as an excuse for political maneuvers. This suspicion was only exacerbated following the decision to exclude Beni and Butembo from the election at the end of 2018. People told me, 'Ebola robbed me of my basic democratic right.' We must acknowledge that this outbreak is occurring in a deeply politicized environment," Liu said.
The MSF international president stressed that the community was not the problem.
"It is our collective responsibility to gain their trust and empower them to take ownership of the response," Liu said.
The DRC Ministry of Health declared a new outbreak in North Kivu Province on August 1. There have been 907 cases registered so far, including 569 deaths.
The largest Ebola outbreak to date killed more than 11,000 people in the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone between December 2013 and April 2016.
