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Ebola patients flee treatment centres in Congo for food as hunger crisis deepens
The Straits Times • • general
Key Points:
- Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo are fleeing treatment centers due to hunger, highlighting food insecurity as a major barrier to controlling the outbreak.
- Over 150 patients have escaped isolation since late May, with inadequate nutrition and poor living conditions cited as key reasons.
- Eastern Congo faces a severe hunger crisis affecting nearly 10 million people, complicating efforts to isolate patients and monitor those exposed to the virus.
- The World Food Program is providing hot meals and food aid to patients, contacts, and affected families, but funding shortfalls threaten the continuation of this support.
- Experts warn that without addressing the broader food insecurity, efforts to contain Ebola will be ineffective, as hunger forces patients and families to break isolation.
