Ebola Response Update

Jack Lopresti Excerpts

Tuesday 20th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Harriett Baldwin]

I pay tribute to the amazing work done by Médecins Sans Frontières, which is part of the delivery mechanism for the response. We have been very pleased with the co-operation that we have had from the DRC Government and their health system but, as the hon. Lady will know, that country is enormous. It is extremely heavily populated and conflict is being experienced in this particular area. Those factors, rather than a willingness of spirit or the desire to help, are the particular challenges in this outbreak.

[Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Con)]

To what extent does my hon. Friend think that the security situation is hampering efforts to treat people in the region, and what are the solutions?

[Harriett Baldwin]

I underline that that is the fundamental challenge in the outbreak, because it has made it very difficult to trace contacts—I mentioned that over 4,000 people who are contacts of people who have tested positive for the disease need to be traced every day—and it is making it really difficult for health workers to do their job. The fact that MONUSCO has come under attack in the area underlines the very fragile security situation, which is causing untold harm to the response.