Canadian Red Cross

Purpose

March 2019 - A 10th outbreak of the Ebola virus disease was declared in North Kivu and Ituri provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on August 1, 2018. North Kivu and Ituri are among the most populated provinces in the DRC. The provinces have been experiencing intense insecurity and a worsening humanitarian crisis, with limited access and over one million internally displaced people. The continuous movement of refugees to neighbouring countries, including Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania, represents a risk of spreading the outbreak to other provinces and neighbouring countries. With GAC’s support, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is helping to meet the immediate needs of persons infected by or at risk of contracting Ebola in the affected health zones. The IFRC has the operational expertise for programmatic response, particularly in community engagement and accountability, psychosocial support, surveillance, and National Society Development. Project activities include: (1) conducting safe and dignified burials; (2) providing psychosocial support to Ebola patients and their families; (3) advocacy and community outreach on Ebola prevention, detection and control; and (4) advocating for humanitarian access to affected and at-risk communities.