Prayers requested for the citizens of Beni which number many members of the Assumption Family including the regional headquarters of the Eastern Congo Region of the Assumptionists and the Prince of Peace School Complex

Addis Ababa, 03 August 2018: The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 01 August 2018 declared a new outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in two Provinces: North Kivu (32 cases) and Ituri (one case). On 28 July 2018, the North Kivu Provincial Health Division notified the Ministry of Health of suspected EVD cases which were subsequently confirmed by laboratory testing at the Institut National de Recherché Biomédical (INRB). This is the tenth outbreak of EVD in the DRC; the ninth outbreak was declared over on 24 July 2018 in the Equateur Province. As of 01 August 2018, a total of 33 cases including 26 deaths were reported with a cases fatality ratio of about 79%.

North Kivu, the most affected Province, is located about 2500 kilometers from the Equateur Province, where the just end outbreak was located. It is one of the most densely populated Provinces in DRC with a population of about 8 million inhabitants. Beni and surrounding areas, with a population of about 2 million inhabitants, is the epicentre of the outbreak. Uganda and Rwanda border North Kivu on the west with a distance of less than 350 kilometers from the respective capital cities, Kampala and Kigali.

In responding to this outbreak, the African Union Commission, through the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), is taking appropriate measures to support the government-led response including: a) monitoring of the situation through its Emergency Operation Centre; b) coordinating with the Ministry of Health of the DRC and WHO; c) mobilizing and preparing to re-locate its Emergency Response Team to the current affected area, d) supporting laboratory diagnostic capacity through provision of laboratory supplies for testing of EVD, and e) activating African Union emergency support mechanism through different units of the commission including the Peace Support Operation Division.