WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - As global confirmed Ebola cases reach 1000, nearly three million children and adolescents are at risk in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while efforts have been increased to treat prisoners near the epicentre of the current outbreak, UN agencies warned on Monday.
Making up 15 per cent of confirmed cases and more than 25 per cent of deaths since the outbreak in April, children are almost twice as likely to die as adults, according to UNICEF.
'Children are especially vulnerable because they depend on caregivers and cannot distance themselves from a sick parent or sibling in the same way that an adult can,' said UNICEF chief Catherine Russell.
'To better protect children, we need sustained access, and the resources needed to reach every affected community.'
More than 130 children have already lost one or both parents in Ituri, the origin and epicentre of this current outbreak.
While testing capacity has recently improved, surveillance and contact tracing remain constrained, including by insecurity and restricted access in a restive region scarred by clashes between the government forces and armed groups.
Ituri province, particularly the Mongbwalu, Rwampara and Bunia health zones, remains the epicentre, with cases also reported in North Kivu and South Kivu.
Calling for immediate, safe and sustained humanitarian access to affected communities, UNICEF is initially seeking $70.7 million for its six-month response, with $20 million still unfunded, as part of the multi-partner Ebola preparedness and response continental plan to contain the spread of the disease.
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