WHO chief urges early treatment for suspected Ebola cases in DR Congo

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged communities at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to seek early treatment for suspected cases and follow safe burial practices to help contain the disease.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the appeal on Saturday during a visit to Bunia, one of the areas hardest hit by the outbreak.

Hospitals in the area have been overwhelmed by the number of patients, and not everyone is receiving care.

Tedros met with the area’s military governor to assess the situation, understand local needs and determine how the WHO can help stop the disease from spreading further.

Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province in northeastern DRC, is close to the Ugandan border. Some Ebola cases reported in neighboring Uganda involved people who had traveled from the province. In response, Uganda has closed its border with the DRC, while the DRC government has restricted travel to the affected area.

The latest outbreak, declared on May 15, is the 17th in the DRC since the virus was first identified in 1976. Over the past two weeks, more than 1,000 suspected cases and more than 230 suspected deaths have been reported. Neighboring Uganda has also reported nine confirmed cases.

Colombians are heading to the polls on Sunday to elect their next president. The country’s constitution prevents the current President, Gustavo Petro, from running for a second term.

Yet, many see this election as a referendum on the policies of Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president.

There are 14 candidates on Sunday’s ballot, but the polls show it will likely be a tight three-way race.

The frontrunner is Ivan Cepeda, a 63-year-old three-term senator, representing President Gustavo Petro’s party, the Historic Pact coalition. Cepeda has vowed to defend and deepen Petro’s progressive reforms and social justice policies to reduce inequality. He also promises to continue the government’s controversial “Total Peace” strategy to negotiate the disarmament of remaining guerrilla groups and criminal gangs.

“True prosperity comes from equality, from access to rights, and from transforming the peripheral and excluded territories of the rural world,” Cepeda said at a campaign rally.

Running as a political outsider and independent is Abelardo de la Espriella, a 47-year-old lawyer, nicknamed “The Tiger.” He has presented himself as the “authority and order” candidate who will reduce state spending by up to 40 percent in the next four years.

“(First,) we must fight insecurity. Colombia is suffering today from a pandemic of insecurity. Crime is out of control: extortion, cattle theft, smuggling, drug trafficking,” he said to his supporters at an election event.

According to polls, the third candidate with strong support is Paloma Valencia. The 48-year-old senator represents the Democratic Center party led by popular former President Alvaro Uribe Velez. Her candidacy is backed by politicians and economists who are concerned with growing levels of public debt. They want to see a return to more conservative fiscal policies.

“I don’t want to be a president who governs alone, locked away in glass offices. I want to be a president who stands with citizens, who embraces them, who reaches out to them, who has a team, and who governs to transform Colombia,” the candidate said at the campaign event

According to polls earlier in the year, many voters are expressing concerns about unemployment, rising living costs, corruption, and, above all, public security.

The election comes after a turbulent year that the International Committee of the Red Cross has called “the worst humanitarian consequences of armed conflict over the past decade.”

“(We arrive at this election in a tense atmosphere – tense) because of the economic situation, because of the security situation, and because of the narratives that have been built around the country’s main problems. On top of that, emotions, ideas and social media have all helped raise (the tone,)” said Eduardo Velosa, associate professor from International Studies Javeriana University.

If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held between the top two finishers on June 21st.