In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 1,900 children have been orphaned or separated from their families due to the Ebola fever, and they urgently need humanitarian aid.
elchi reports that this was stated by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
After visiting the city of Bunia, the epicenter of the Ebola epidemic, Lucia Elmi, UNICEF’s Director of Emergency Operations, expressed her concern regarding the fate of the children left without parents.
“For children, Ebola can trigger a rapid chain reaction of severe consequences,” she stated. “A parent gets sick and the child may be exposed to the virus. From my perspective, a parent is hospitalized or passes away, and the child is left without the person they depend on.”
The UN Children’s Fund has called for urgent funding to protect children left without guardians. “UNICEF is requesting $150.8 million for Ebola response measures,” the press release emphasizes. “To respond solely to the situation in Congo, $113.4 million is required, of which, according to today’s data, only $40.1 million has been mobilized.”
According to the Congolese government, the number of laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases in the country currently stands at 8,544. The number of deaths from Ebola is 4,114. The mortality rate is 48.2%. The fever has affected seven of the country’s 26 provinces.
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