Congo’s Ebola burial teams battle community anger, fatigue and fear of infection
Burial teams paid $20 a day are attacked by grieving families as authorities race to contain an outbreak that has killed nearly 3,200 people.
- Shortly before noon last Friday, burial teams laid Justine Habineno, a 36-year-old chorister, to rest in Congo's Ituri province as front-line workers contend with hostility while managing the Ebola outbreak.
- The World Health Organization projects this outbreak could surpass West Africa's 2014-2016 epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people, with authorities reporting nearly 3,200 deaths among more than 6,500 cases.
- Authorities deploy burial teams across hot spots to handle victims; paid $20 a day, Benjamin Muhindo, a team member, said, "We are putting everything on the line."
- Since May, burial teams have faced attacks from bereaved families; Muhindo noted that burials are complicated as teams race against the clock while managing mounting physical fatigue.
- Rose Tchwenko, Mercy Corps country director, said the chain of transmission requires "an integrated holistic response" that includes social support for bereaved families and front-line workers amid ongoing challenges.
34 Articles
34 Articles
Associated Press News
Congo’s Ebola burial teams battle community anger, fatigue and fear of infection
The burial of a young chorister in Bunia highlights the ongoing Ebola crisis in Congo. The outbreak is the fastest in history.
Yuma Adolphe and her team are responsible for the safe and dignified burial of some of the people who die of Ebola in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicenter of the most deadly Ebola outbreak in history. They dig the graves, prepare the bodies and take care of the coffins almost every day.
Congo’s Ebola burial teams battle community anger, fear of infection
Yuma Adolphe and his team are responsible for the safe and dignified burial of some of the people who die from Ebola in Ituri, the epicenter of history’s deadliest Ebola outbreak. Nearly every day, they dig the graves, prepare the bodies and handle the coffins. But as the authorities grapple with the outbreak, which has […]
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