Description: The DRC’s Health Ministry announced that up to 71 new Ebola cases were reported within a timeframe of just 24 hours, increasing future projections for spreading the disease. The total number of Ebola cases in the country reached 452 with 82 confirmed deaths as the country also grapples with multifront armed insurgencies and terrorist threats from the ISIS – affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). The WHO has pledged $518 million in public healthcare services last week in order to contain the spread which has so far reached neighboring Uganda. The CDC has estimated that according to the current spreading ratio, Ebola cases in the DRC could reach much larger numbers in the upcoming period in case the disease is not contained. M23 rebels have reportedly contacted and provided Doctors Without Borders with access to its controlled territories to treat Ebola infected patients.
Impact: Despite the reported upsurge in newly infected patients, according to the latest estimates, the Ebola healthcare crisis is unlikely to spread outside of the region. The WHO’s program, supported by Doctors Without Borders and other regional healthcare organizations are likely to cooperate with armed groups such as the M23 in order to prevent the spread of the disease. Humanitarian conditions would continue to deteriorate, while armed conflicts are likely to persist, especially in the face of growing threats from ADF or other militias in the eastern DRC. M23’s inclusion of Doctors Without Borders on its controlled territories likely strengthens their model of government in eastern DRC which could provide difficulties for the DRC government to establish control.