Scrutable

The outbreak in Samoa has been earning a lot of coverage, yet it seems that there has been an ongoing outbreak in the DRC that has killed almost 5,000 people this year. Like in Samoa, lack of access to healthcare and poor infrastructure is being blamed. What is interesting (and depressing) is that the Samoan outbreak has received massive amounts of news coverage around the globe while the DRC outbreak has barely made a peep on the international stage. I can't help but wonder why.

According to UNICEF five countries accounted for 45 per cent of measles cases in 2018.

In addition to the DRC, they are: Liberia, Madagascar, Somalia and Ukraine. What they have in common is poverty, war or both.

The level of conflict in the DRC means there's almost no reporting coming out of it at all. It's amazing that they have the public health stats that they do. A colleague who was working in Rwanda near the DRC border showed me a factions map and some areas the size of UK counties have 10-15 factions in them

OneOffDave wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2019 3:20 pm The level of conflict in the DRC means there's almost no reporting coming out of it at all. It's amazing that they have the public health stats that they do. A colleague who was working in Rwanda near the DRC border showed me a factions map and some areas the size of UK counties have 10-15 factions in them

That would definitely explain the lack of news about the outbreak.

I have to admit I was unaware that there was still conflict there. I don't know why, but I had assumed (on the basis of absolutely nothing) that things were calming down there.

Poor black countries ignored by the rich white world.

OneOffDave wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2019 3:20 pm The level of conflict in the DRC means there's almost no reporting coming out of it at all. It's amazing that they have the public health stats that they do. A colleague who was working in Rwanda near the DRC border showed me a factions map and some areas the size of UK counties have 10-15 factions in them

There is also the far more eye-catching Ebola scare.

I can't remember when, but the BBC World Service had a report on it within the last few months. There are quite a few epidemics there as well as the other problems.

DRC is always in, or on the fringes, of some form of conflict.

And whenever there is significant conflict, there will be a cessation of routine healthcare programmes and thus there are always increases in measles cases during periods of conflict.