The warning came as Kenya confirmed the first Ebola infection and death linked to the outbreak, with the case believed to have been imported from the DRC. “Ebola takes the people children depend on and unravels their lives,” United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Chief of Communication in the DRC Halimatou Amadou said.
“The parents fall ill, a child may be exposed, the parent is taken for treatment or dies. At the very moment a child most needs someone, fear and stigma can keep relatives and neighbours away.”
More than 1 900 children have lost one or both parents or caregivers, or become separated from families, since the outbreak was declared in May.
UNICEF said the figures covered only areas where the agency worked with social-affairs teams, meaning the true number could be higher.
Children are also accounting for a disproportionate share of Ebola deaths.
At least 2 017 children had contracted the virus by September 29 and 1 062 had died.
Children represented slightly more than one-quarter of confirmed infections but about one-third of deaths.
The fatality rate among children younger than five had risen to 70%, up from 60% several weeks earlier. “Many die before the virus is ever detected, before they ever reach treatment,” Amadou said.
UNICEF is supporting 12 nurseries in Ituri and North Kivu for children exposed to Ebola, those whose parents are receiving treatment and those left without caregivers.
“Children are fed, they are held, they’re cared for,” Amadou said. “They are also watched closely so that if symptoms appear, they get paediatric care fast.”
UNICEF called for a nursery to be established at every Ebola treatment centre in the DRC.
The agency also urged authorities and partners to maintain routine health services so children could receive early diagnosis, rapid referrals and protection against common childhood diseases.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the Kenyan case was “likely imported from DRC”. WHO teams were working with Kenyan authorities to establish further details and monitor possible transmission.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
