The head of the World Health Organization on Monday concluded his visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo by briefing the president on the response to the Ebola outbreak, which the aid agency warned was likely to be higher than official figures indicated.
The outbreak, already the third largest on record, went on for weeks without detection, say health officials, who were behind the curve and struggling to contain it.
Arriving in DR Congo last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for more international support to stop the spread of the disease before traveling to the Ituri region in DR Congo where the first cases were confirmed.
There he said he saw encouraging signs – including five confirmed recoveries – as well as the need to increase testing and treatment capacity and build confidence in health workers.
“This Ebola can be stopped when the community owns the agenda and strong government leadership,” he said after meeting with President Felix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa on Monday.
“We need to strengthen the capacity of the health systems in the affected areas.”
