Q&A: Why humanitarian aid is crucial to stopping the Ebola outbreak

Conflict involving armed groups and intercommunal violence has displaced large numbers of people, while insecurity has made it difficult for health workers to reach many communities, particularly camps for internally displaced people (IDPs). Officials say the lack of access is hampering case detection, contact tracing and treatment, while communities that have long been deprived of basic services remain sceptical of an Ebola-focused response. Al Jazeera speaks to Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the humanitarian challenges hampering the response, the funding gap and what it will take to bring the outbreak under control.

Al Jazeera: What are the main priorities?

Jean Kaseya: We are in a region where around a million people are living in camps for internally displaced people. These people cannot access even the most basic services and reaching those camps is a major challenge. Some of the people coming from the camps to seek treatment are telling us there are many more cases there, but we cannot access them. We are talking about close to two million people.

Al Jazeera: You cannot go there because of security reasons?

Jean Kaseya: We cannot go there because of security concerns, which are linked not only to rebel groups but also to conflict between the Hema and Lendu communities. The people living in these camps have not received humanitarian support for a very long time. When health workers go there to raise awareness about Ebola, people ask: “Why are you coming now? Is it because of your disease?” They tell us they do not have enough water, food or medicines for other diseases. They ask our volunteers: “Why are you only coming here because of Ebola?” It is a difficult question to answer.

Al Jazeera: You recently met Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and African Union Chairperson and Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye. What came out of those meetings?

Jean Kaseya: We met the two heads of state together with the Ebola task force and the humanitarian affairs ministry. We concluded that we need around $1.4bn over the next six months to deal with this humanitarian crisis if we are serious about stopping the outbreak. At our meeting on June 16, we received pledges of $910m, but that was for the health response only.