As Congo grapples with Ebola, volunteers cook up meals to support patients and health workers

BUNIA, Congo -- Arlette Basekawike, a volunteer for the United Nations food agency in Bunia, the heart of Congo's Ebola outbreak, spends most of her time in a small shed outside a health facility preparing meals for patients and health workers.

Her hair covered by a pink bonnet, she prepares porridge, omelets and bread for breakfast for patients at the Evangelical Medical Center. The lunch and dinner menus might include fresh fish with fufu, a starchy staple made of mashed plantains, finished off by fruit.

“Even though the patients have this disease, they still feel better when they eat, and the doctors have the energy to treat the sick and give them medication,” Basekawike told The Associated Press on Monday as she prepared vegetables and potatoes with goat meat in a large cooking pot. “I’m here for them like a parent, preparing food so they feel comfortable.”

Her contribution may appear, on the surface, like a simple task, but it has become one of the critical supports for the region as it grapples with the rapidly spreading rare Bundibugyo virus, the species of Ebola confirmed in eastern Congo in May.

As of Tuesday, 321 cases of the Ebola disease and 48 deaths had been confirmed in the Central African nation’s three eastern provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu, according to the World Health Organization. Neighboring Uganda has had nine cases and one death confirmed, according to the WHO, prompting Uganda to close its border with Congo.

Before the outbreak, the beleaguered region already faced one of the world's most severe food crises due to an ongoing conflict that has displaced millions of people as government forces fight rebels. The spreading virus has added another layer of complexity that the United Nations warns might complicate the efforts to manage the spread of the virus among an already wary population.

“We are in a region where we already have large segments of the population suffering from acute food insecurity linked to either war or displacement,” said Olivier Nkakudulu, who heads the World Food Program in Ituri province. “So there are already needs and Ebola is an additional crisis on top of a crisis.”

The resource-strapped agency, the World Food Program, is facing a critical choice as aid cuts from the U.S. and other major partners have disrupted operations in the vulnerable region. Efforts to contain the disease, which the World Health Organization has deemed a global health emergency, have been hampered by a lack of funds as global partners either withdrew or reduced pledges.

Also, attacks by suspicious residents on health workers and the slow delivery of aid due to the ongoing conflict have made it difficult to slow the spread of the disease.

Despite the challenges, the agency and health workers say they have ensured patients' nutritional demands are met so far.

“Today we need to increase the amount because the number of patients has gone up,” Esther Bao, a nurse and one of the volunteers, said. There are also patients who, because of their health situation, "don't eat just any meal,” she said.

The Bundibugyo virus has no approved vaccine or treatment. However, treatment has targeted symptoms and five people have recovered.

The outbreak continues to spread, from the three health zones affected at the onset to 22 as of this weekend, according to Congo's Ministry of Health.

On Sunday, 120 meals were served through four health facilities, bringing the total to 404 since the food assistance began on May 28, according to Nkakudulu. But the financial situation has not been easy, he said.

“Without more funding, we might not be able to prioritize every suspected case,” Nkakudulu said. "We might have to focus on some and not have food to give to others."

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Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria.