More than a thousand children have died of Ebola in DR Congo — UN News

As of September 29, at least 1,062 children had died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In total, the infection was confirmed in 2,017 children, UN News reports, citing the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Children are losing parents and caregivers

Since the outbreak was declared in May, more than 1,900 children have lost one or both parents or caregivers, or have been separated from them. According to UNICEF, 1,581 of these children are in North Kivu province, the epicentre of the crisis.

UNICEF's head of communications in the DR Congo, Halimatu Amadou, said that the disease is depriving children of the people they depend on. When parents fall ill, undergo treatment or die, relatives and neighbours may avoid contact with children because of fear and stigma.

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High mortality among children under five

Children account for slightly more than a quarter of all confirmed Ebola cases in the country, but approximately one-third of deaths. Among children under five, the mortality rate reached seven out of ten cases, compared with six out of ten several weeks earlier. According to Amadou, many children die before the virus is detected and before they arrive at a treatment centre.

UNICEF supports 12 child care facilities in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu. They care for infants and young children who may have been exposed to the virus, whose parents are receiving treatment, or who have been left without care. The organization called for such facilities to be established at every Ebola treatment centre in the DR Congo.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is monitoring the situation in Kenya, where the first Ebola case and the first death from the disease have been confirmed. WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said that the case was likely imported from the DR Congo.