Hunger hampers Ebola response as cases top 3,200 in DR Congo

The UN emergency food agency appealed for immediate funding on Wednesday, warning that deepening hunger is undermining the response to an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that has now infected more than 3,200 people. “ Ebola feeds on delay, fear and hunger ,” said Carl Skau, acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme ( WFP ). “Stopping this outbreak requires all hands on deck and communities at the centre.” Declared in eastern DRC on 15 May, the Ebola outbreak is the fastest growing on record . Full-blown Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus is marked by severe bleeding and a fatality rate of around 40 per cent. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) issued a stark warning that food assistance and logistics are critical to containing the outbreak. “Food assistance is frontline Ebola containment,” Mr.

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