Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo Puts Children at Greater Risk as 330 Die
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is putting children at increased risk: 330 children have died and the fear of infection and disruption of health services are preventing families from accessing health services.
Nearly one in four of the 743 children aged 0-17 confirmed with Ebola were children, and they accounted for nearly one in three of the deaths, according to UNICEF.
Children under the age of 5 are especially susceptible. The case fatality rate for this age group is more than 60 per cent, compared to over 30 per cent among adults.
The outbreak is also impacting children’s access to routine health care. The utilization of essential health services decreased by 42 per cent in the major outbreak hotspots of Bunia, Mongbwalu, Nizi and Rwampara between April and June.
There was a significant drop in routine childhood immunisation, such as a 69 per cent decrease in first dose measles vaccination in Mongbwalu. In Ituri Province, health facilities delivered over 23,000 fewer routine child doses of vaccines in May and June compared to April.
Children may be vulnerable to further risks from malaria, diarrhoea and other preventable or treatable diseases if health care is disrupted, UNICEF said.
The crisis also underscores from a child protection point of view, the potential for multiple and overlapping risks to children during a disease outbreak, especially when health systems are not accessible or families have lost trust in them.
UNICEF and partners have deployed approximately 13,000 frontline community workers, visited over 505,000 households and reached over 21,000 individuals and 5,100 children with mental health and psychosocial support.
The agency is asking for US$113.45 million to scale up its response to impacted and high-risk health zones.
