Ebola survivors in Beni, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, have taken their personal experiences to schools as classes resume amid the ongoing outbreak.
The Ebola survivors’ association in Beni, considered the epicentre of the outbreak, held an awareness session for students last week, sharing lessons from their experiences with the deadly disease.
The initiative comes as health authorities continue efforts to contain the outbreak, which has reportedly killed nearly 3,200 people among more than 6,600 confirmed cases.
Gisèle Nziavake, a member of the survivors’ association, said she participated in the campaign to educate students and share what she had learned from her experience.
“I came to raise awareness and share our experience and pass on the lessons.”
Schools Face Challenges Amid Ebola Outbreak
Teachers and students are facing significant challenges as schools operate during the health crisis.
Rebecca Kahindo Kaputu, a teacher at Mapambazuko Elementary School, said inadequate access to basic health and sanitation facilities remains a major concern.
“First, we have faucets for water, but we can go two, three, or even four days without any water coming out of them. And second, we don’t even have a thermometer (to check temperature),” she said.
The outbreak has spread across six provinces in eastern Congo, where responders are working under extremely difficult conditions worsened by rebel violence, displacement and large population movements.
A fragile healthcare and disease surveillance system has further complicated the response, with shortages affecting contact tracing and laboratory testing.
Vaccine Challenges Complicate Response
Containing the outbreak has also been made more difficult by the absence of an approved vaccine or treatment specifically for the rare Bundibugyo virus responsible for the current outbreak.
Authorities have begun vaccinating frontline healthcare workers with the Ervebo vaccine. According to the World Health Organization, the vaccine could provide some protection against Ebola, although there is no conclusive evidence that it will be effective against the virus currently circulating.
Health officials have warned that the actual scale of the outbreak could be significantly greater than official figures suggest, with some estimates putting the true number of cases at around three times the reported statistics.
The World Health Organization has warned that the outbreak could eventually surpass West Africa’s 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic, the deadliest Ebola outbreak on record, which claimed more than 11,000 lives.
Against this backdrop, survivors in Beni are playing a key role in educating young people, using their firsthand experiences to encourage greater awareness and help communities understand how to respond to the disease.
