Red Cross volunteers mobilised to find ebola victims and tackle stigma
14 December 2001

Fifty specialised volunteers of the Red Cross of Gabon are working together with other national health personnel to contain an outbreak of Ebola. The viral haemorrhagic fever has killed at least ten people, including one health worker, in the north-eastern Ogooué Ivindo province on the border with Congo.

"Ebola spreads very quickly and erratically. At this very moment Red Cross volunteers are helping Gabonese authorities to trace an infected woman who is known to have crossed the border into neighbouring Congo in search of a traditional healer", says Dr. Hakan Sandbladh, Emergency Health Co-ordinator of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Two Federation Ebola specialists are on their way to Gabon to assist the National Society and the crisis cell established by authorities. To help the local Red Cross to fight the Ebola outbreak the Federation has released 50,000 Swiss francs from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund.

The virus first struck the village of Ekata, 8 km from the border with Congo and quickly spread to three other villages Meddamba, Ntolo et Elaonene. The risk of further spread is high as these villages are linked by road to larger towns like Mekambo and Makoku.

The volunteers play a crucial role in preventing the spread of the disease by providing information about the Ebola virus to people living in remote hamlets in the Ogooué Ivindo province, a jungle area inhabited by pygmies and hunter tribes where the latest cases of haemorrhagic fever have been identified.

One hundred volunteers, including thirty from neighbouring Congo will be trained in the coming days and will join efforts to raise awareness among the population in the areas at risk. They will distribute leaflets and explain the preventative measures but will also be able to trace and detect new Ebola cases where they occur.
Although people who survive Ebola become immune to the virus, they and the family members of those deceased from Ebola face the risk of being isolated and even expelled from their communities.

"In Gabon, like after past crises, Red Cross volunteers will be the ones to fight stigma, provide psychological support to the victims and encourage sceptical communities to reintegrate them", says Dr. Sandbladh.

For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact:

Denis McClean, Head, Media Service Tel.: +41 22 730 4428/ + 41 79 217 3357

Andrei Neacsu , Information officer Tel.: +41 22 730 4296/ + 41 79 217 3374

The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 181 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.