What Doctors Without Borders Is Doing, In DRC -- To Try To Plug The Hole Left By USAID Departure: Bundibugyo / Ebola '26 Edition

MSF (or, Doctors Without Borders, in English) is as ever, working feverishly to alleviate the crisis in Ituri Province DRC -- where this Bundibugyo species of Ebola is spreading largely unchecked. [My graphic is woefully outdated: now 1,400 or more are dead -- many more to come, sadly. But no one really knows the actual numbers, as people were dying for months in the region before the outbreak was officially declared, this Spring.]

This is a remote, mining camp laden province, with lots of transient workers -- and a wide-spread fear of Euro/Western interference. And, to top it off, a civil war is raging in the region, with most combatants not wearing regular uniforms. So one may never know who might be a hostile force, passing through. All of that is before Tangerine 2.0/Rump cut off USAID. Damn.

In any event, here's a bit of that -- but it is a daunting effort, to be certain:

. . .Currently, more than 1,400 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff are on the ground in DRC, treating patients, setting up Ebola treatment centers and isolation units, and delivering supplies to overwhelmed health facilities.

This outbreak is particularly challenging to control; just over two months in, it’s already the third-largest and fastest-growing Ebola disease outbreak on record. Unlike most previous outbreaks of Ebola disease, this one is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, and there are very few medical tools available to fight it. Further, conflict-related insecurity, airport closures, and flight restrictions are disrupting the flow of staff, diagnostics, referrals, and supply chains. Major gaps related to diagnosis, surveillance, contact tracing, and community engagement continue to undermine efforts to bring the outbreak under control. And the response is further complicated by the concurrent health needs in DRC, where the coming rainy season will raise the risk of further outbreaks. . . .

Please join me, and donate if you are able:
Doctors Without Borders USA

P.O. Box 5030
Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030

Onward -- resolutely just the same.

नमस्ते