BUNIA, Congo (AP) 鈥� For patients in an with no approved medicine or vaccine, there is little comfort. But Arlette Basekawike, a volunteer for the U.N. food agency, is doing her best.
Her hair covered by a pink bonnet, Basekawike prepares porridge, omelets and bread for breakfast in a shed outside the Evangelical Medical Center in Bunia, the heart of the outbreak in eastern Congo. Lunch and dinner might include fresh fish with fufu, made of mashed plantains, finished off by fruit. She feeds both patients and health workers.
鈥淓ven though the patients have this disease, they still feel better when they eat, and the doctors have the energy to treat the sick and give them medication,鈥� Basekawike told The Associated Press as she prepared vegetables and potatoes with goat meat in a large pot. 鈥淚鈥檓 here for them like a parent, preparing food so they feel comfortable.鈥�
Her contribution may appear like a simple task, but it has become a critical support for the remote region as it grapples with the rapidly spreading , the rare species of Ebola confirmed in May.
As of Tuesday, 321 cases including 48 deaths had been confirmed in the Central African nation鈥檚 three eastern provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu, according to the World Health Organization. WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said the number of suspected cases has dropped to 116 from 906 last weekend as many were ruled out after investigation.
Neighboring Uganda’s has had 15 cases and one death confirmed, its health ministry said Tuesday. Uganda closed its border with Congo last week despite WHO guidance not to do so.
Meanwhile, Congolese authorities reopened Bunia鈥檚 airport on Tuesday for domestic flights, requiring passengers to undergo temperature checks and respect strict sanitary measures.
The International Organization for Migration on Tuesday urged governments to strengthen cross-border coordination instead, warning that border closures could drive people’s movement underground and increase transmission risks.
鈥淰iruses do not stop at borders, and neither should our response,鈥� said Ugochi Daniels, IOM deputy director-general for operations. 鈥淲hen borders close, people often continue moving through informal routes where health screening and surveillance are limited.鈥�
The Congo-Uganda border has numerous footpaths beyond formal border posts.
Before the outbreak, the region already faced one of the world’s most severe food crises, because of an ongoing conflict that has displaced millions of people as government forces fight rebels. The United Nations has warned that might complicate efforts to manage the spread of the virus among an already wary population.
鈥淓bola is an additional crisis on top of a crisis,鈥� said Olivier Nkakudulu, who heads the World Food Program in Ituri province.
WFP is facing a critical choice as and other major partners have . Efforts to contain the disease, which WHO has deemed , have been hampered.
Meanwhile, on health workers and the because of the conflict have been challenging.
Responders say they have ensured patients’ nutritional demands are met as 鈥渃omfort food鈥� takes on a more significant meaning.
鈥淭oday we need to increase the amount because the number of patients has gone up,鈥� said Esther Bao, a nurse and one of the volunteers. She worried about patients who, because of their health situation, 鈥渄on’t eat just any meal.鈥�
Among the rare signs of optimism, at least have recovered in the outbreak, which continues to spread.
More than 400 meals have been served since the food assistance began on Thursday, according to Nkakudulu.
But “without more funding, we might not be able to prioritize every suspected case,鈥� Nkakudulu said. “We might have to focus on some and not have food to give to others.”
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Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Mark Banchereau in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.
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