The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is showing signs of progress but significant challenges remain in testing, surveillance, vaccine development and building community trust.

Four nurses who fell ill with Ebolain the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the often-fatal illness that sparked an international health alert.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus briefed journalists in Geneva a day after returning from the DRC, where he met a wide range of stakeholders and said he was encouraged by theGovernment's commitment to combating the deadly epidemic, which has also spread toneighbouringUganda.

What I saw gave me hope,hesaid.

The outbreak had a big head start, and were still behind, but under the leadership of the Government of DRC, we are catching up.

Caseload decrease

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyostrain of theEbolavirus for which there is no treatment although three vaccines are in development.

Tedros said344 caseshave beenconfirmedin the DRC, including 60 deaths.Meanwhile,the number of suspected cases has now been reduced from over 1,000 last week to 116as teams work through the backlog.

Theepicentreof the outbreak is the eastern province ofIturi, with cases also in North and South Kivu provinces. It is unfolding amid ongoing violence by armed groups, other health threats such as malaria, and dire humanitarian needs.

ThreeEbolatreatmentcentresare nowoperatinginIturiscapital, Bunia, with a capacity of 80 beds.Treatment unitsalsohavebeenestablishedin five otherregionalcities, and more are on the way.

Risk and recovery

Meanwhile,Uganda has recordedone confirmed death and 15 confirmed cases, includinga Congolese resident who travelledthere from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). An American citizen, who was infected in the DRC, continues to receive care in Germany.

WHOs risk assessmentisunchanged,remainingvery highat the national levelandhigh at the regional levelwhileglobal risk is low.

Six people in the DRC and two in Uganda have recovered to date, showing that people can survive Ebola if they have access to care and go to health facilities as soon as they show symptoms.

WFP/Benjamin Anguandia

A WFP worker speaks to women preparing food for people affected by Ebola in Goma, capital of DRC's North Kivu Province.

Step up efforts

Tedrosoutlinedongoing challenges, noting thatscaling uplaboratory and diagnostic capacity is a key priority to ensure faster response.

Action on contact tracing isrequired, which is especially difficult due to insecurity,displacementand population movements.He saidthe current follow-up rate,roughly45percent,needs to reach over 90 per cent to get ahead of the outbreak.

WHOalsoasks countries that have imposedblanket travel restrictionsto lift them because these measuresare disrupting supply chains and hindering response efforts. The UN agency recommendsexit screening at airports,portsand border crossings.

Build community trust

Tedros stressed the critical need to build trust with local communities to bring the outbreak under control.Community mistrust is a serious barrier, he said. Some community leaders told me that they believe Ebola is not real.

While no vaccines or therapeuticscurrently existto treat the outbreak, WHO and partners are working to advance clinical trials as quickly as possible.

In this regard,Tedros on Wednesdayconveneda second meeting of a medical network, which wasestablishedin the wake of theCOVID-19pandemic, to strengthen diagnostics, immediately support affected countries in leading clinical trials and accelerate investment to support the overall response.

Although vaccines and therapeutics would bea big help, the key to ending this outbreak is not biomedical.Itsleadership, ownership,partnershipand trust, he said.

Commitment and support

The DRC has faced 16previousEbola outbreaks and Tedros was adamant that thisonewill be stopped but the real measure of success willbe preventingfuture recurrence and addressing broader health needs.

If the people ofIturisurvive Ebola only to die from malaria or malnutrition, or pneumonia or diarrheal disease or HIV or diabetes, we have not really helped them, he said.

Heunderlined the commitment of WHO and partners to end the outbreak, under the leadership of the DRC authorities.

When it does end, we will remain equally committed to supporting the government and the local communities to build the health and humanitarian services they need and deserve, hesaid.