In the Democratic Republic of Congo, health authorities and healthcare workers are working tirelessly to try to contain the Ebola epidemic declared on May 15 .
In Bunia, in the northeast of the country , the organization Doctors Without Borders has already set up an Ebola treatment center and is preparing a larger one, while the first clinic is already overwhelmed with patients.
"We are overwhelmed [...], we have many patients but we have no place to put them," explains Yazid Yassin, medical director of the Elikya clinic, who says he hopes the new center will help to "alleviate" these problems.
Beyond medical and logistical capabilities, health authorities are trying to gain the support of the population to effectively fight against the virus.
In Ituri province, the epicenter of the epidemic, rumors and mistrust persist . The organization of so-called "secure" burials, which disrupt funeral rites, is a notable point of tension.
"The population itself has not yet embraced the effort to eradicate this disease. That's how it is, we are in the phase where we will have many sick people, but there are measures underway in relation to this, in relation to communication, in relation to awareness," says Yazid Yassin.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Friday a joint $518 million plan from June to November to fight Ebola.
The current epidemic has caused 48 deaths out of 321 confirmed cases in the DRC, according to the latest WHO figures.
