As Ebola spreads in Congo, radio station combats misinformation

A man washes his hands with a mix of water and chlorine during an Ebola outbreak in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 4. Yonhap

BUNIA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — The rare Bundibugyo type of Ebola that Congo is battling took locals by surprise after weeks of undetected spreading. Hundreds of cases were suspected when the outbreak was declared in May, but many dismissed the news as a “Western conspiracy.”

Congolese authorities announced the new Ebola outbreak on May 15. At least 63 people have died from 381 confirmed cases, Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said late Thursday. Yet the outbreak has been challenged by skepticism, attacks on health workers and misinformation.

Verite Johnson, a journalist and editorial secretary at the Radio Television Mont Bleu station in Bunia, the eastern Ituri province capital where the outbreak is concentrated, decided to produce a new program to combat rumors.

The radio show has emerged as a vital tool to win over some residents who have been unaware or skeptical about the facts of Bundibugyo.

The 45-minute program runs daily at 10 a.m., reminding people of the dangers and regularly featuring health specialists providing updates and answering questions. The show’s jingles about the virus also play intermittently throughout the day, and residents are able to call in with questions.

“So far, there’s still a layer of resistance within the population, and that’s where the media plays an important role,” Johnson said.

Resistance to protocols during public health emergencies is common in Congo, which is battling its 17th Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified there in 1976. There currently is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo type of Ebola, which has added another layer of fear.

Widespread rumors, often arising from fear and misinformation, discourage residents from adhering to health warnings or seeking medical help during an outbreak, health officials say. People often hear about a disease through the media as authorities and international partners scramble to contain the outbreak.

Unfounded rumors link Ebola to money

Some residents allege that illnesses like Ebola are elevated by opportunists trying to profit.

“They don’t separate people who have Ebola from those who have the flu at the hospital. Given the manner in which people are treated, we deduce it is about money,” said Samson Gerson, a 52-year-old Bunia resident and father of seven. “I can never take the vaccine — I prefer to die, because if the vaccine arrives, it can scare us even more.”

Analysts say some people in Congo have been susceptible to misinformation due to mistrust of the health care system and because local officials are not always actively involved in containing the disease.

“What is key is to involve the local actors at all levels. If we try to impose what we think is right to the community, we are running towards failure,” said Basile Rambaud, emergency programs director for Mercy Corps in Congo. “If people do not trust the response, they end up delaying seeking care, rejecting protective measures or avoiding working with health teams, giving the virus more time to spread.”

Ituri province residents have launched at least three attacks against health centers, demanding the bodies of deceased patients. Some people believed to have Ebola left the centers during the attacks, and health workers could not account for their whereabouts.

“We don’t even know what the body of a person who died of Ebola looks like, but we just see images and montages on our phone,” said Bunia resident Chantal Francine, who expressed doubts over the reported deaths.

Full scale of the outbreak is unknown

The virus has rapidly spread from an initial three health zones to 24, according to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said Wednesday that the virus “had a big start.”

Experts and WHO officials have warned that the numbers might not reflect the true scale of the epidemic, as weeks of testing for the wrong type caused a delay in containing the virus.

The outbreak has been worsened by ongoing armed conflict between Congo’s government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, as well as attacks by the Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Force, which killed 16 people in Beni territory in North Kivu province on Tuesday.

The attacks by both groups have caused massive displacement of people living in the conflict areas, officials said.

Despite the growing Bundibugyo outbreak and the conditions that are enabling the disease to spread, Johnson said Radio Television Mont Bleu continues providing residents with vital facts.

“Everyone is free to think what they want, but the information remains the same. The epidemic is here,” Johnson said.