HuffPost: The Latest Ebola Outbreak In DRC Is Shocking, But It’s Just The Tip Of The Iceberg
Mike Penrose, executive director of UNICEF U.K.

“The escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recently driven this little-reported country into our headlines. … But this is just the latest blow for a country which seems to be trapped in a perennial state of flux. Forced recruitment [to militias], brutal violence, disease, and severe food insecurity have dominated the lives of the Congolese people for many years. DRC sits firmly near the top of many aid organizations’ priority lists, but its crises have been blindingly absent from international news. … [W]hile DRC has air time on the global media stage it’s vital that people understand the true scale of the problems. Without funding, the nutrition programs helping children … will cease to run. The centers liberating children from the militia and reuniting them with their families will close. The vaccination program to contain the spread of Ebola will not be scalable. The Ebola outbreak is a sinister reminder of the fragility of this country, but it is just the tip of the iceberg” (5/31).