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Add to Preferred SourcesWHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
The declaration followed a meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee for EVD in the DRC. The Committee cited recent developments in the outbreak in making its recommendation, including the first confirmed case in Goma, a city of almost two million people on the border with Rwanda, and the gateway to the rest of DRC and the world.
‘Ebola’ has been a word that for obvious reasons has been used in each and every meeting. The brainstorming and reflections on how UN Volunteers can support WHO in its work in Africa and in particular in the DRC were rich and action-driven.
Two years ago WHO and UNV started to explore more actively different ways of working together. In 2018 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between both organizations which has led to 40 UN Volunteers assigned to WHO operations in Africa including the Regional Office. Innovative initiatives are being launched to build sustainable capacities in the health sector through National UN Volunteer assignments of talented young graduates such as in Mauritania. WHO has now also solicited UNV support for the emergency response in the DRC.
Original source: UNV
Published on 19 July 2019