Shifting focus to ongoing health emergencies, the WHO chief painted a stark picture of the African continent.
“Meanwhile, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ebola outbreak continues to expand with an average of 38 new confirmed cases every day for the past two weeks. As of today, 1406 cases have been confirmed, and 438 people have died,” Ghebreyesus said.
He said WHO had strengthened its response, noting that testing capacity had expanded to 10 laboratories and that contact tracing had improved, with four in five contacts being monitored. He added that treatment capacity had also expanded, with around 650 beds available across 22 health centres.
Ghebreyesus added that clinical trials of two therapeutics had begun with the enrollment of the first patient.
“Also today, WHO has given emergency use listing to the first molecular diagnostic test for Bundibugyo virus. Despite all this progress, we continue to face significant challenges, including mistrust and violence,” he added.
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