Beyond Ebola: Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo Share their Fears in the Face of Ebola

The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has killed more than 2,000 people, over 800 of them children, in less than 14 months. Boys and girls continue to die in the epidemic.

The long-lasting consequences for child survivors of Ebola or those who lost family members to the disease highlights an on-going crisis that will impact children long after Ebola has been brought under control in Eastern DRC. However, few know what children are thinking and experiencing. Children are typically the last to be heard in a part of the country that has historically been torn-apart by conflict and where armed groups terrorise entire regions. This media briefing accompanies a longer report ‘Fear and Isolation.’

In September 2019, World Vision conducted interviews and focus group meetings with 268 people (139 children and 129 caregivers) in Beni and Butembo in eastern DR Congo. Participants were drawn from the hardest hit health zones of Beni, Oicha, Mabalako, Kalunguta, Butembo and Katwa. As part of this work, World Vision interviewed 30 children who were Ebola survivors, orphaned by Ebola, or both

The findings give an insight into children’s lived experiences. These have informed the development of a set of recommendations that will guide World Vision’s advocacy and response to the Ebola crisis in Eastern DRC.