East Congo villagers kill Ebola health worker, loot clinic

FILE PHOTO: An Ebola survivor a two-year-old confirmed Ebola patient inside a treatment centre in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – A mob in eastern Congo killed an Ebola health worker and looted a clinic, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, underscoring a breakdown in public trust that is hampering efforts to contain the deadly virus.

Attacks on treatment centers by armed groups and mistrust among residents who view the disease as a conspiracy have become major impediments to containing Democratic Republic of Congo’s worst-ever Ebola outbreak.

The hemorrhagic fever has so far killed 1,281 people, according to the latest ministry figures, and shows no signs of slowing its spread, with dozens of new cases a week.

The ministry said that on Saturday residents of the village of Vusahiro, in the Mabalako district, “rose up and attacked the local Ebola response team, made up of village residents who were trained to carry out certain response activities”.

A hygienist from the infection prevention and control team died of his injuries when he was transferred to hospital, it said.

Responders, healthcare workers, and community members are increasingly subjected to threats from armed groups in hotspots such as Katwa and Butembo, the World Health Organization says, complicating efforts to contain Ebola.

U.N. officials say that stopping targeted attacks on health workers requires untangling deep-rooted political problems in eastern Congo. Dialogue has led to a recent reduction in large-scale attacks on health workers, WHO emergencies chief Mike Ryan told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

Still, an uphill battle remains. Between January and early May, there were 42 attacks on health facilities, with 85 workers either injured or killed, according to WHO figures from May 3.

Health workers have been attacked six times in the last eight days, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the closing session of the annual World Health Assembly in Geneva on Tuesday.

“These attacks demonstrate that the ongoing Ebola outbreak is more than a health crisis,” he said. “Ending it takes a coordinated and strengthened effort across the U.N. system…with strong leadership from the government.”

(Reporting by Fiston Mahamba in Goma, additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles in Geneva; Writing by Tim Cocks and Edward McAllister; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Texas Family Planning Clinics Drop Planned Parenthood

A group of Texas family planning clinics has announced they are severing all ties with the nation’s largest abortion provider.

The group previously known as “Planned Parenthood Assocation of Hidalgo County” has changed their name to “Access Esperanza Clinics” and said the move was done to obtain funding for services.

“Changing our name and affiliation allows our agency to apply for state health programs and make low-cost services more available for thousands of our low-income women, men and teens,” Patricio C. Gonzales, CEO of Access Esperanza, said in a web letter.  “We hope to be approved for the state’s Texas Women’s Health Program services by October 2014 and plan to apply for other programs to expand our range of primary care services.”

Planned Parenthood acknowledged they had been cut out of the group.

Access Esperanza does not list abortion as one of the procedures they offer to the public.

The funding to the group had been curtailed because of Senate Bill 7 passed in 2011.  The bill revoked government funding of Planned Parenthood affiliated groups.