Nurse Killed in Attack on Ebola Responders in DRC
The Facts
- A nurse was killed, and another health worker was severely injured on Saturday after being attacked while responding to an Ebola alert in Bafwasende, a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) eastern Tshopo province, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
- According to a Reuters report citing a local health official and a memo, a mob joined by youths armed with machetes and batons assaulted the pair, killing the nurse at the scene of the attack before emergency services could arrive.
- The health official also told Reuters that health workers in Bafwasende were sheltering at the general hospital under police guard, afraid of returning home, after youths in the area previously attacked a colleague and set fire to his house.
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The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Killing the people putting themselves on the line to end a deadly virus is indefensible. This tragedy is a consequence of rampant misinformation and disinformation that disseminate falsehoods about lethal injections and money-making schemes. Stopping these lies is essential to protect health workers moving forward.
Establishment-critical narrative
Suspicion in the DRC Congo has been earned after decades of extraction, neglected clinics and aid that shows up only when a virus threatens wealthy countries. Treatment centers backed by force and lectures will keep failing until health authorities regain lost trust. This faith cannot be rebuilt overnight, but slowly by working with local leaders, providing basic services and dignified burials.
