“The response to Ebola has required enormous resources. Let us put the emphasis on using this crisis as a means of strengthening the health system. The implications go far beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); the world is watching us.” This was the core message from Dr Eteni Longondo, Minister of Health of the DRC, to the participants of the Mid-Term Review of the Strategic Response Plan 4 for Ebola, which took place in Goma this past week.
In response to a rapidly evolving Ebola outbreak, the Ministry of Health, the United Nations and other partners launched Strategic Response Plan 4 on 1 July 2019, which calls for scaling up the Ebola response around five pillars:
- strengthening the public health response to the Ebola outbreak;
- strengthening political commitment, security and operational support;
- strengthening support for communities;
- strengthening financial planning, monitoring and reporting; and
- strengthening preparedness.
