Curbing an Epidemic on the Move on Universal Health Coverage Day

Thursday 12 December 2019 I VIEW IN BROWSER ([link removed])
Leave No One Behind: Marking Universal Health Coverage Day
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IOM Director General's Message ([link removed] )

Roughly half of the world’s population is unable to access essential health services. On Universal Health Coverage Day, IOM reiterates its commitment to improving access to health services for migrants and vulnerable populations to ensure no one is left behind.
Curbing an Epidemic on the Move: Stopping Ebola in its Tracks
The November attacks in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) targeting a United Nations base in Beni and the Ebola response coordination office in Biakato led to the senseless killings of local health workers.

Until security is restored, the International Organization for Migration has reduced its presence and restricted its movements in the impacted areas.

Meanwhile, the Organization's staff continue to monitor tens of thousands of travelers for symptoms of the deadly disease in other parts of the country.

On Universal Health Coverage Day, we also stand with health workers on the front lines of the Ebola response who risk their lives every day to eradicate the disease and protect their communities.

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Bita Bernadette checks travellers for symptoms of Ebola before they travel from Goma in DRC to neighbouring Rwanda. Photo: Muse Mohammed/IOM


** Goma – Every day Bernadette Bita assumes her position at Goma’s border crossing point between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. With a thermometer and clipboard in hand, she diligently checks travellers for symptoms of Ebola before allowing them to travel onward.

“It is everyone’s responsibility to protect themselves and communities from Ebola until the disease is eradicated…I’m not only helping my own country but also our neighbour,” said Bernadette.
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Learn more about IOM's response to the Ebola epidemic in DRC.


** She works at the Grande Barrière Point of Entry (POE) screening point where she and other frontline workers check approximately 15,000 people for symptoms of Ebola daily. A few kilometres away, an additional 65,000 people per day are screened at the second border crossing in eastern Congo’s most populous city.
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Travellers are encouraged to wash their hands with chlorinated water at health screening points in Ebola-affected areas. Photo: Muse Mohammed/IOM


** Throughout eastern Congo, hundreds of thousands of people earn their income from trading goods – ranging from timber to charcoal to pineapples – in neighbouring countries and between cities. Ongoing conflict throughout the country has displaced more than five million people.
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A frontline worker at a Point of Control in Beni spreads messages about Ebola prevention techniques to people traveling through the endemic area. Photo: Muse Mohammed/IOM


** Ease and freedom of movement within the DRC and across borders allows people to keep food on the table, put children in school, engage in the local economy, and seek refuge from violence.

It also adds an extra challenge to curbing the spread of a highly infectious epidemic.
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** Read more about IOM's response to the Ebola epidemic here. ([link removed])
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Health screening points established at borders of Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan and at busy transit hubs inside DRC, like markets or entrances to major cities, keep communities on the move safe from the spread of disease. Photo: Muse Mohammed/IOM

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