Parents and teachers in Congo urge delay of school resumption as Ebola outbreak rages on

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Parents and teachers at the epicenter of Congo’s fast-moving Ebola outbreak are urging authorities to delay the reopening of schools as infections continue to outpace efforts to contain the disease.

The Ebola outbreak centered in the eastern Ituri province is the fastest-growing in the disease’s history and remains out of control with 5,713 confirmed cases, including 2,744 deaths, according to Congolese health authorities.

Schools are set to reopen across Congo on September 1, but some teachers and parents in Ituri are urging authorities to delay the return, saying the Ebola outbreak still poses too great a risk to children.

Children aged 4 and below have the highest case-fatality rate of any age group in the outbreak, at 60%, according to available health data.

“We want to resume classes, but not at the cost of our lives,” Fazila Rebecca, a teacher in Ituri’s capital of Bunia, told The Associated Press.

“As long as the disease is circulating and protective measures remain inadequate, returning to the classroom means taking a risk we cannot ignore.”

The local Ituri teachers’ union met Tuesday in Bunia, urging authorities to assess the outbreak before deciding whether to reopen schools.

“We are not opposed to the resumption of classes, but we believe that the health and safety of teachers and students must be a priority,” said Budju Lobo Isaac, a teachers’ union representative.

Authorities in Ituri did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday that an additional $1.1 billion is urgently needed to fight the outbreak, with the United Nation’s $2.13 billion response plan only 48% funded — largely because of a major contribution from the United States.

Guterres said international attention and resources are still lagging behind the reality on the ground, warning that “without additional funding, vital operations will run out of money just when they need to expand.”

The outbreak in eastern Congo is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fuelled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ strike and intense population movements.

The World Health Organization has said it remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people.

Although the current outbreak was declared in mid-May, officials believe it had been spreading since February.

It has spread from three health zones to nearly 60, with most cases and deaths occurring outside the network of monitored contacts and within communities.

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