Behavioural Data Compilation #5

On 13 August 2018, Jean Marie Bofio, UNICEF WASH Officer, talks to children about the importance of Ebola prevention near Mangina, North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “Children and women are among the first victims of the Ebola outbreak in the country. But there is hope and everything is done to stop Ebola. Water and sanitation are critical in this fight because hygiene is the best way to prevent the spread of the this deadly disease,” says Jean Marie Bofio. Following the 1 August 2018 announcement by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of a new Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in North Kivu, UNICEF has mobilized its teams to help contain the spread of the disease and protect children. The impact of an outbreak on children can be far reaching. It’s known from earlier outbreaks in the DRC as well as in West Africa that children can be affected in various ways. Children can themselves be infected by the disease, but the impact goes beyond; it impacts their families and communities as children can lose their parents, care-givers and teachers. Access to basic services such as health care and education can become severely compromised. Also, children who are infected or whose relatives are, face stigmatization and social exclusion. The Congolese Government has activated its response plan and called its partners, including UNICEF, to participate in the response. UNICEF has deployed a team to Beni for the response, including health specialists, communication specialists and a water, sanitation and hygiene specialist from the Ebola-response team in the Province of Equateur. Health, water, sanitation and hygiene and communication supplies have been sent to the affected areas including 300 laser thermometers to monitor the health conditions of people in the affected region and 2,000 kg of chlorine to treat water to help contain the spread of the disease. As at 14 August 2018, UNICEF has installed 35 chlorination points