The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 517 (April 22 - May 5 2020)

Health
APRIL 22 - MAY 5 2020
TheTrumpet
Coronavirus: DRC doctor prepares for
latest in long line of health crises
Page5
Health professionals working with
the World Health Organization
(WHO) in eastern Democratic of
Congo (DRC), have been dealing with the
deadly Ebola epidemic since August 2018.
This experience is helping them to prepare
for the latest disease to arrive - COVID-19.
New cases of Ebola have been reported
in Beni since 10 April, resulting in two
deaths, despite earlier hopes that the
disease had been eradicated in the country.
As well as Ebola, the population of DRC is
also having to deal with malaria, measles
and cholera as well as ongoing insecurity,
which is partly why health workers trying
to vaccinate locals against Ebola have
faced mistrust, and even violence.
In an interview with UN News,
Dr Abdourahmane Diallo, who heads up
the WHO Ebola vaccination programme in
DRC, explained that this is an ongoing
problem.
“Unfortunately, we have been fighting
some resistance regarding the new cases:
the community did not believe that they
were Ebola cases, which is making life
difficult for our workers on the ground. But
we are doing our best to communicate with
them, and convince anyone who has been
in contact with the patients to get
themselves vaccinated.
The cases of COVID-19 that we know
about are two people who came from
Dubai to Uganda, and then tried to get to
Beni. As soon as we got the message, we
tried to isolate them, and their conditions
have improved.
Delivering the right message
We had hoped to be able to close the
treatment centres, but now, with cases of
Ebola, and cases of COVID-19, that has
changed. Spirits are good, however. I am
from Guinea, where we had Ebola, and I
also coordinated vaccinations in Sierra
Leone. So, I am very experienced. When
we face challenges, we try to remain
courageous: this is part of being a public
health worker.
Communication has been a major
problem throughout the Ebola epidemic,
and we expect to have the same problems
with COVID-19. For example, even before
the new cases of Ebola this month, we had
a meeting with local authorities, to make
sure that the community received just one
message, and that it was the right message.
Within our team, we also have to be very
careful to make sure that we are
coordinated and speaking with one voice.
As of now, it seems to be working:
social distancing has begun; the authorities
have closed the night clubs, for example,
and even in the markets, people are trying
to stay at least one metre apart.
Rinsing Ebola protective gear in Beni,
Democratic Republic of the Congo (Photo by
Finnish Red Cross - Maria Santto)
Fighting myths and rumours
Disinformation has been a problem.
People have been saying that certain drugs
can be used to vaccinate against COVID-
19, which is not true. We explain that there
is no vaccine against the virus, and trials
are still ongoing. That message is
beginning to get through, and we are
continuing to vaccinate against Ebola.
It is very important that we keep going
back to the community, as many times as
necessary, to get our message across. And
we have to take time to explain, and give
them the opportunity to have their say,
otherwise we can’t succeed. Sometimes,
this means going back to the community
five or six times in one day!
I have learned that you have to know
the right way to speak to the community.
Sometimes, to put them at ease, I don’t
wear WHO-branded clothing. I dress
simply, I bring a basic mobile phone, to
A World Health Organization (WHO) Ebola vaccination team works in Butembo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Photo by WHO - Lindsay Mackenzie)
A nurse prepares to vaccinate an infant during a regularly-scheduled immunization clinic in North Kivu
province, DRC (Photo UNICEF - Thomas Nybo)
show them that I am like them, and that we
need to work together to fight the outbreak.
Protecting health workers
Luckily, we do have enough protective
clothing, because of our vaccination
campaign: for some time, have been
vaccinating anyone who has been in
contact with an Ebola patient, and we don’t
know if they are a high or low risk. So, we
need to make sure that we are fully
protected.
And when we go into the community,
we are spraying chairs, tables, everything,
and ensuring that our team is wearing
Personal Protective Equipment.
As for the COVID-19 pandemic, we are
worried, of course, but we hope that, if
people stick to the government guidelines,
and we are able to communicate those
guidelines to the community, the outbreak
will not spread.
I remember when the COVID-19 cases
started in Guinea, my home country, I
warned that anyone returning from highrisk
countries needed to self-isolate for
fourteen days, and not to go immediately
back to their families and risk infecting
them. Unfortunately, many people did not
follow that advice, and now there are
hundreds of cases in the country.”