By Monica Kayombo,Zambia, Lusaka,
EBOLA outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is putting increasing pressure on essential health services, with pregnant women, mothers and children among those bearing the brunt as health workers and resources are diverted towards containing the deadly virus.
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) officials said during the agency’s weekly press briefing on Thursday that the demands of the Ebola response were affecting routine healthcare, including antenatal services, while contact tracing remained one of the major challenges in containing the outbreak.
The officials warned that the disruption was occurring alongside an increase in maternal deaths, underscoring the wider consequences of an emergency response on an already stretched health system.
Dr Landry Dongmo Tsague, Africa CDC Director of Primary Health Care, said women were particularly affected during Ebola outbreaks because of difficulties accessing healthcare, especially pregnant women and those with children.
He stressed the need to strengthen the capacity of health workers and ensure they were adequately supported and motivated to continue providing essential services while responding to Ebola.
The warning comes as the international community mounts an unprecedented financial mobilisation to support the DRC and neighbouring countries in containing the outbreak.
Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said the mobilisation demonstrated what could be achieved when political leadership, affected countries and international partners worked towards a common objective.
But he warned that pledges alone would not stop Ebola, calling for resources to be rapidly converted into disbursements, implementation and measurable results in affected communities.
Dr Kaseya said Africa CDC would strengthen its financial tracking mechanism to provide greater visibility over commitments, disbursements, expenditure, implementation locations and results.
He said the DRC Government needed to be able to see where resources were going, who was implementing programmes, what gaps remained and what results were being achieved.
The emphasis on accountability comes as the health emergency threatens to stretch services beyond their capacity.
For pregnant women, reduced access to antenatal care can mean missed opportunities to identify and manage complications before they become life-threatening. Mothers and children may also face interruptions to other essential health services.
Maintaining routine healthcare alongside Ebola control is therefore a critical part of the response.
Africa CDC officials said the response must support frontline health workers while strengthening surveillance, laboratory capacity, rapid diagnosis and treatment, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement.
The agency is also working to strengthen preparedness in countries neighbouring the DRC, particularly in border areas and at points of entry.
Officials said countries including Burundi, Rwanda and the Central African Republic needed continued support to maintain preparedness capacity and strengthen logistics, as population movement and cross-border links remain important considerations in controlling the outbreak.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement released from New York on Thursday, Africa CDC said commitments linked to the G20+ Foreign Ministers Meeting on Accelerating Collective Action to Defeat Ebola, convened by the United States in New York on September 23 on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, had reached approximately US$3 billion.
The agency’s updated figures put total commitments at US$2.997 billion, including cash and in-kind support.
The United States is the largest contributor, with US887million,followedbytheEuropeanUnionandEuropeanCommissionwithUS568 million, and the World Bank with US$433 million.
Other major commitments include US221millionfromthePandemicFund,US196 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), US127millionfromGermany,US110 million from African countries, US105millionfromtheUnitedKingdomandUS90 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.
Uganda’s experience in ending Ebola transmission was cited during the G20+ meeting as demonstrating the importance of strong political leadership, a health system capable of responding to outbreaks, community trust and effective cross-border cooperation.
The international mobilisation is consequently expected to support not only the immediate containment of Ebola but also the wider capacity of health systems to withstand the outbreak without abandoning other essential health needs.
Africa CDC said the New York commitments must now translate into faster delivery on the ground, including support for frontline health workers, stronger surveillance and laboratory systems, treatment, contact tracing, protective equipment and medical countermeasures.
The agency also stressed the importance of community and village-centred action, arguing that affected populations must remain at the heart of decisions.
For the DRC, the challenge is therefore twofold: stopping Ebola transmission while ensuring that the response does not unintentionally create further health emergencies by disrupting services needed by people who do not have Ebola.
With contact tracing still presenting challenges, Africa CDC says the speed with which the newly mobilised resources reach frontline communities will be critical.
The nearly US$3 billion mobilisation has provided additional resources for the response. The next test will be whether the money reaches health workers, facilities and communities quickly enough to contain Ebola while keeping essential healthcare running.
