Doctors Without Borders Says Congo Ebola Outbreak Remains Out of Control at Six Months; Barrick Furloughs Kibali Staff

Since the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was detected in eastern Congo in mid-May, the outbreak has become the deadliest in the country's history. As of a Nov. 11 statement from Congo's National Institute of Public Health, it stands at 11,114 confirmed cases and 5,433 deaths, a case fatality rate of 48.9 percent.

The new development is a blunt assessment from the people working inside the response.

MSF: "Empty hands and empty pockets"

Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) said on Nov. 12 that the outbreak "remains out of control" six months in. The group said urgent action is needed to get resources to the places that need them most.

"Despite the vast amounts of money provided for the response, many frontline responders are left trying to contain the outbreak with empty hands and empty pockets," said Dr. Javid Abdelmoneim, MSF's international president. "Our teams are often left speechless by the dysfunctions they witness in many areas."

MSF listed specific failures:

• Response staff are untrained and unpaid.
• Ambulances have no fuel.
• Health workers lack supplies and technical support for handling suspected cases.
• Epidemiological surveillance, which MSF called "a cornerstone of any Ebola response," is "deeply problematic," with entire areas "poorly covered or even completely neglected."

MSF did credit authorities and international partners with some tangible results, including expanded isolation and treatment units. It said the shortcomings "remain profound and largely unaddressed, despite being widely acknowledged."

The Congolese government and the World Health Organization did not respond to requests for comment on the MSF statement.

WHO points to violence

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged some of the same problems, including delayed pay for frontline workers, in remarks to a member-state briefing in Geneva on Nov. 11. His emphasis was different. "Insecurity is now one of the greatest obstacles to the response," Tedros said.

The violence is documented. Local officials said a nurse was killed by a machete-wielding mob in Bafwasende after the caseload passed 10,000. Residents confronted him and a teacher, shouting that they were spreading the virus. The teacher was seriously injured but escaped.

A local health official said doctors and nurses in Bafwasende were sheltering at the hospital under police guard. Tedros said everyone working to protect communities "must be able to work in dignity and safety." Senior UN Ebola coordinator Julien Harneis called the killing "a loss to the Ebola response and an even greater loss to patients."

Other attacks have been reported in the same area. A community worker's house was burned by a mob days before the killing. In late September, a politician named Marie-Celestin Karondwa was reportedly beaten to death after appearing on a radio program about the outbreak.

MSF's account and Tedros's are not identical. MSF describes money that is not reaching the front line. Tedros describes a security situation that is choking the work. Neither has publicly explained how the two fit together, or where the funding has gone.

Barrick sends nonessential workers home at Kibali

The outbreak has now touched one of Africa's largest gold mines. Barrick Mining is furloughing some employees and subcontractors at its Kibali mine in Haut-Uele province after officials reported two Ebola deaths in a nearby community. The move was disclosed in an internal company memo seen by Reuters.

The memo, dated Thursday, Nov. 12, and signed by Acting General Manager Jean Marc Badibanga, said Congo's National Institute of Biomedical Research confirmed the two deaths. It said Barrick was working to confirm whether there are any links to the company's workforce.

The furloughs apply to staff and subcontractors whose presence is not essential. The memo gave no number. Workers who feel unwell were told not to report to work and to contact company medical staff immediately.

Barrick did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company said in May that it had increased Ebola precautions at Kibali.

Kibali is owned 45 percent by Barrick, 45 percent by AngloGold Ashanti and 10 percent by Congo's state miner SOKIMO. According to government data cited in the Reuters report, there have been no Ebola cases at industrial mines. The outbreak has hit artisanal mining operations.

What is still open

The outbreak now trails only the 2014–2016 West African epidemic, which infected at least 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. It has already passed the 2018–2020 Congo epidemic, which killed 2,299.

Two questions are unanswered. Barrick has not said how many workers are affected by the furloughs, or whether the two deaths in the community connect to anyone at Kibali. And neither the Congolese government nor WHO has responded to MSF's specific charges about unpaid staff, fuel-less ambulances and gaps in surveillance.