African countries join forces to prevent Ebola spreading

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Global News Podcast 30 min 8 speakers 8 chapters transcribed 4 months ago
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Charlotte Gallagher 0:00
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Charlotte Gallagher 0:35
What are these three celebration tents doing in my yard?
Thomas Nardi 0:38
Don't you have that Norsun Luuhää day coming up? What? What are you talking about? Or did you get the army from Esikoinen Ripi? Were there any birthday parties this summer?
Rhys Prescott 0:46
We don't have any celebration parties.
Charlotte Gallagher 0:48
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Hamdullah Fitrat 1:02
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Charlotte Gallagher 1:08
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Charlotte Gallagher, and in the early hours of Monday, the 25th of May, these are our main stories. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan adopt a joint plan to counter the spread of Ebola across the region. And President Trump tells US negotiators not to rush into a deal with Iran, despite earlier suggestions an agreement had largely been reached. also in this podcast. It was horrific, you know, on all levels. The story of an activist on the Gaza flotilla raided by Israeli forces and its elite sports ultimate taboo. Think of everything that's banned in the Olympics and anything that's banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, but that's approved by the FDA and that's what they're on.
Charlotte Gallagher 2:02
We go to the enhanced games, literally the Olympics on steroids. African countries are working together to try and stop the current Ebola outbreak centred in the Democratic Republic of Congo from turning into a wider continental crisis. There have now been more than 200 deaths and 900 suspected cases as the disease spreads through conflict-hit regions with weak health systems. Our correspondent Thomas Nardi told me more.
Thomas Nardi 2:34
In Kampala, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda itself, and then South Sudan decided to adopt a joint plan. And it's basically to counter the spread of the Ebola virus across the region. What they are doing is they are trying to increase border monitoring, improve protection for frontline workers, and then also expand capacity. And we've seen that the numbers have started increasing. The WHO announced on Sunday that the number of suspected cases have risen to over 900 and then 101 cases. concerned cases. And this is as a result of improved testing, tracking, and then surveillance in the affected regions. But I think the health ministers in the three countries did express concern about the fact that trade and then also conflict in the region coercing the ongoing outbreak in the DRC and in Uganda.
Charlotte Gallagher 3:39
Unfortunately, where the outbreak has centred, particularly in the DRC, it's a very fragile area in terms of regional conflict and also a very fragile health system.
Thomas Nardi 3:51
Certainly. The outbreak remains active in three provinces in the DRC. We have the Ituri province area. where commercial flights have now been suspended in the capital, Bonia. We also have North Kivu and South Kivu. And we know that the virus has spread to rebel-controlled territories, which is quite difficult for health authorities. to get to in order to contain the spread. And it's sometimes in very remote areas where health facilities are non-existent or there are poor health infrastructure in those particular areas. So it's really very difficult for the authorities to kind of control or prevent the spread of the virus. And we know that this particular strain has no proven vaccine or treatments.
Charlotte Gallagher 4:42
And are these countries getting enough support from other parts of Africa and also from the international community as well?
Thomas Nardi 4:50
Funding has been a very big challenge in the fight against this virus. Africa's CDC on Saturday said that they needed about $300 million to contain the spread. And so far, it's the Gates Foundation which has announced an initial $50 million in emergency funding to support the Ebola response in the DRC. And we know that the UN has also allocated about $60 million to support the fight against the virus. So funding remains a very big challenge. You need money to be able to support frontline health workers who are trying very hard to ensure that they contain the spread of the virus.

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