BUTEMBO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
A coffin maker stands with his creations outside his workshop in Butembo, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His job is more vital than ever, due to the Ebola epidemic that is ravaging the region.
The Ebola virus causes fevers, uncontrollable bleeding and organ failure, and is often fatal if left untreated. The current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began last August, and since then over 1,000 people have been infected with the disease. It now stands as the second largest and second deadliest Ebola outbreak on record (the deadliest Ebola epidemic occurred from 2014 to 2016, in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia; it sickened over 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000).
The death toll continues to rise – and to make things worse, the two affected provinces, North Kivu and Ituri, are a conflict zone, rife with armed militias. There have been multiple attacks on treatment centres, and this violence has led the French medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to suspend its activities in these areas.
Despite these conditions, the World Health Organisation (WHO) decided in April not to declare the outbreak a global health emergency. The WHO claims that the epidemic does not meet the criteria for a global emergency, because it has remained limited to two north-eastern provinces and has not reached other countries. However, some researchers argue that declaring the epidemic a global health emergency would bring more money and international help to stamp out the disease.