Attacks and strikes hamper Ebola fight

 

TT-AP 

Published 19:34

  

Employees at an Ebola treatment facility are on strike over unpaid wages and bonuses in Ituri, northeastern Congo-Kinshasa. Photo: Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne /AP/TT

At least 12 attacks on health facilities and staff have been reported during the Ebola outbreak in Congo-Kinshasa, according to authorities.

In Ituri province, where the outbreak is at its epicenter, security concerns are hampering efforts to combat the disease, authorities say.

Many attacks are carried out by angry mobs who have stormed health facilities and attacked health workers in the field, according to Pierre Akilimali, the Ebola response incident manager.

In Ituri, health workers have left rural communities. This comes after protests broke out among residents after a woman died at a local hospital on Wednesday.

In addition, many healthcare workers and others helping on the front lines have gone on strike due to a dispute over wages.

So far, 864 Ebola deaths have been confirmed in the country, and 2,181 are infected.