Ebola

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Thursday 25th July 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

We are the leading donor for regional preparedness and will certainly be working with Rwanda to ensure that it is firmly on the agenda.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords, as has already been said, it is important to control the spread of Ebola. Can my noble friend say whether local schools are closed in eastern DRC? Would that help to reduce the spread of this infection?

[Baroness Sugg]

I thank my noble friend for that question. Of course, as I said, we are doing all we can to reduce infection. Unlike in Sierra Leone, schools in the affected area currently remain open; so far, they have not been identified as a major source of transmission. In west Africa, we saw that school closures could have many negative and long-lasting effects on children and the surrounding communities. As the noble Lord, Lord Collins, pointed out, schools are actually a way in which we can educate people on this. Our support for UNICEF helps to fund infection prevention and control work in schools near confirmed cases. While the ultimate decision to shut schools rests with the Government of the DRC, it is something that the UK monitors closely.