DR Congo Ebola nurses lack pay and protection, ICN says

The International Council of Nurses urged DR Congo authorities on Friday to pay and protect health workers fighting Ebola, saying some nurses and other workers had gone unpaid for two to three months during a deadly outbreak.

The Democratic Republic of Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15. Latest World Health Organization figures put the outbreak at 4,566 confirmed cases, including 2,128 deaths and 918 recoveries.

The Geneva-based ICN, which covers national associations representing more than 30 million nurses worldwide, said it had written to DR Congo Health Minister Roger Kamba with demands including adequate personal protective equipment, payment of outstanding wages and risk allowances, regular future pay, insurance and compensation.

“You cannot fight Ebola if you don't pay the people fighting it,” ICN chief executive Howard Catton said. He said nurses were risking their lives and that protecting and paying health workers was essential to an effective response.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it was working with local communities to help ensure the response is understood, accepted and supported.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that the outbreak was spreading faster than any previous Ebola outbreak and, at its current pace, was on track to eclipse the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, which killed more than 11,000 people. He said a high proportion of deaths were occurring in communities rather than treatment units and outside known contact lists.

Tedros said the plan was to triple treatment capacity to 3,000 beds within 12 weeks and to recruit and train three health workers for every patient.

Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids and causes haemorrhagic fever. This outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.