About 5,000 civilians have sought temporary protection at UN peacekeeping bases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) amid fighting and reports of armed movements in Djugu Territory.

The UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric disclosed this while briefing journalists on Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York on the activities of the UN mission in the DRC.

Mr Dujarric said ongoing violence and displacement in Ituri Province had prompted civilians to seek protection at bases operated by the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

He said about 3,100 people sought protection at a temporary base near the Rhoo displacement site on September 27, following fighting between armed groups.

“That followed the fight between the CODECO armed group and the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CRP) armed group,” he said.

Mr Dujarric said peacekeepers provided emergency medical care to nine people, while another 2,000 civilians sought shelter at the MONUSCO base in Drodro the following day.

He said the second influx followed reports of gunfire and suspected movements of armed people in the area.

“Most of the people who were looking for protection have since voluntarily left our bases. The Mission remains vigilant and continues to deploy robust patrols in response to the increasing insecurity in Ituri Province,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that health workers responding to the DRC’s largest Ebola outbreak were facing major challenges in providing care to patients.

According to WHO, early access to treatment and oxygen is critical to improving the survival chances of Ebola patients.

The number of confirmed Ebola cases has exceeded 8,000 since the outbreak began, according to Congolese authorities.

“While we are beginning to see a reduction in transmission in some areas, the number of cases remains high for this outbreak,” Janet Diaz of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme told reporters in Geneva.

She said 8,067 confirmed cases and 3,901 deaths had been recorded, representing a case fatality rate of more than 48 per cent across 63 affected health zones in seven of DRC’s 26 provinces.

“We know that for Ebola disease, early access to care can significantly improve chances of survival,” Ms Diaz said.

“Yet in this outbreak, many people are still dying at home or in their communities because they are unable to reach health facilities on time,” she said.

Ms Diaz, who recently returned from her second visit to the DRC since the outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus was declared in May, visited treatment centres in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province.

“Delays in seeking care, together with challenges in access and referral, continue to complicate the response,” she said.

She said WHO and its partners focused on improving early recognition of illness, rapid referral systems and early supportive care.

Ms Diaz said Ebola treatment capacity had increased “from only a handful of beds…at the start of the outbreak to more than 1,600 beds across 50 treatment centres within the seven affected provinces.”

She said plans were underway to further expand capacity to more than 2,000 beds.

The WHO and its partners had also trained nearly 400 health workers, with a training hub established in Bunia to support the response.

“Every patient bed requires a skilled workforce to provide safe, quality care around the clock,” Ms Diaz said.

She identified oxygen as a key component of supportive care for Ebola patients, particularly those with severe illness, but said it remained “unavailable or unreliable in many health facilities, especially in emergency settings.”

Ms Diaz said access to oxygen required more than cylinders or equipment, stressing the need for functioning health systems, reliable infrastructure, trained health workers and sustainable delivery systems.

“Without previous oxygen scale-up efforts in Ebola and Marburg [virus disease] responses, we would not be where we are today in terms of more positive outcomes for patients,” she said.

The WHO said there was currently no approved vaccine against the Ebola Bundibugyo virus, though vaccine trials were underway.

It said 20,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, previously effective against Ebola Zaire virus, had been allocated for a research vaccination programme in Ituri Province. 

(NAN)