OXFORD, England — Catholic church representatives in Congo have
urged international action to contain Ebola, after an epidemic in the country's
eastern provinces was declared an emergency by the World Health Organization.
"The Congolese people have suffered so many troubles in
recent years — Ebola is only the latest," said Msgr. Andre Massinganda,
deputy secretary-general of the Congolese bishops' conference.
"Our greatest need now is for those with power to identify
an effective strategy for containing the disease and to come to the aid, via
the United Nations, of our government and population."
The priest spoke as the World Health Organization, meeting July
17 in Geneva, declared the Ebola outbreak a "public health emergency of
international concern," after signs it could have spread to Goma, a city
of up to 2 million people bordering Rwanda.
In a July 17 Catholic News Service interview, Msgr. Massinganda
said church leaders were satisfied that local authorities were doing what they
could to isolate potential victims and were pleased the "gravity of the
situation" had been recognized internationally.
"In places like Butembo, Beni and Goma, where there are
large churches and public centers, there's now great unease about possible
spread throughout our country and abroad — it's a problem that has to be taken
very seriously," he told Catholic News Service.
However, another senior priest warned intervention was being
hampered by insecurity in Congo's Ituri and Nord-Kivu provinces and said troops
had been deployed to guard Ebola treatment centers after dozens of attacks
since January left seven health workers dead and up to 60 injured.
"These facilities are essential if Ebola is to be combated,
and it's terrible to see how their staff have been resisted and assaulted by
armed groups who don't believe in these dangers," said Father Pierre
Cibambo Ntakobajira, Africa liaison officer for the Vatican-based Caritas
Internationalis.
"The Catholic Church's role in helping resolve this complex
and tragic situation should be fully recognized by the international community,
especially given its capacity to reach out to communities where armed gangs are
everywhere," he said.
Ebola, a highly contagious and mostly fatal virus causing
hemorrhagic fever, devastated parts of West Africa from 2014 to 2016, killing
more than 11,000 people.
Almost 2,500 cases have been reported in the latest outbreak,
Congo's 10th since 1976. The Health Ministry is showing a dozen new infections
daily and more than 1,660 deaths by July 17. News reports said 160,000 people
had now been vaccinated.
Father Cibambo Ntakobajira said Caritas-Congo was providing food
and counseling in affected areas, where efforts to combat the disease were also
obstructed by a lack of resources.
He said Bishop Melchisedech Sikuli Paluku of Butembo-Beni had
helped mobilize efforts by other religious leaders. He added that the U.N. had
asked the Catholic Church to provide information and raise public awareness
through its local parishes.
Church sources said bishops from dioceses affected by the latest
epidemic had appealed to Catholics and the general public to apply preventive
measures, but said some response teams were still encountering a "culture
of denial," as well as preference for witch doctors in treating the
disease.
"Some of the smaller religious groups have also spread doubts
about the reality of Ebola, so it's been important to ensure the (identical)
message is now being circulated and the same commitment shown by
everyone," said Father Cibambo Ntakobajira.