Réponse et Contre-Réponse (Suluhu Working Paper 7)

Posted by ethuin on November 2, 2021 · Leave a Comment 

Réponse et Contre-Réponse

Soins formels et informels pendant l’épidémie Ebola au Nord-Kivu

Serge Kambale Sivyavugha

This is the third of four Suluhu Working Papers analysing the Ebola response in eastern Congo 2018–2020. You can download the full paper in French here. Below is the paper’s English abstract.

Between 2018 and 2020, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) tenth Ebola epidemic occurred in Beni area. Compared to previous outbreaks, it was unprecedented in size and triggered a large-scale Response effort. In parts, the Response consisted of mechanisms to monitor the spread of the disease and take charge of suspects and patients. These mechanisms, supported in large part by international organizations, intervened on top of a fragile and weakened domestic health system and resorted to unorthodox procedures. Coupled with unsuitable methods, this prompted suspects and patients to escape the Response and resort to informal structures – affecting the rate of spread, the morbidity and deadliness of the epidemic. This article describes the context in which the epidemic arose, presents the architecture of the Response, and discusses some of its shortcomings. It finds that a “counter-Response” emerged and coexisted alongside government and international efforts, thereby creating a hybrid system in the wake of DRC 10th Ebola outbreak.