The States has awarded a £50,000 grant to a UK overseas aid charity, to help them provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The money – from Overseas Aid & Development (OAD) – will be used by Medair UK to help protect frontline healthcare workers in the region from the deadly virus Ebola.
Deputy Jennifer Strachan, OAD President, said thousands of families in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda were “living through fear, loss and unimaginable hardship”.
She said: “Behind every news headline or statistic is a person – a parent, a child or a caregiver – caught in the path of this Ebola outbreak that is having devastating effects on the country.
“Our island has experienced firsthand the power of ‘pandemic preparedness’; particularly the ability to protect healthcare workers and prevent the spread of infection.”
Deputy Strachan said Ebola was “not just the DRC’s problem”, adding: “Our solidarity will extend beyond our shores at times of crisis.”
Deadly and contagious
More than 10,000 people are suspected to have caught the deadly virus, with about 250 confirmed deaths.
However with a mortality rate of about 50% of the strain of Ebola in question, the real figures could be much higher.
The current outbreak has also spread to Uganda, with the strain reported to be “deadly, contagious and at high risk of spreading to other neighbouring countries”.
In May, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC “an international public health emergency”.
A spokesperson for OAD said the spread of the disease in the DRC was being fuelled by factors including a “lack of swift identification, testing and referrals” and poor funeral practices.
