World Health Worker Week: Celebrating the Unsung Heroes of Our Health Systems / cancer, Health Worker, OncoDaily, Oncology, WHWWeek, World Health Worker Week

Health workers in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have begun to receive a vaccine that many hope will provide a level of protection against the Ebola virus. The vaccine rollout started on Saturday in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province in the northeastern DRC. Ituri is the epicentre of the fastest-growing outbreak of Ebola in history. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3DR Congo’s worst Ebola epidemic ever passes 7,000 cases list 2 of 3Ebola spreads to seventh DRC province as gov’t insists cases are declining list 3 of 3Ebola fight in DRC ‘far from over,’ warns WHO chief end of list The provincial governor, Major-General Gaby Kasongo Mulumba, said health workers there “are particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response”. The operation, backed by the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, will also target North Kivu, where cases have been rising sharply, health authorities said. Some 50,000 health and other frontline workers will be injected with the Ervebo vaccine, which was developed for use against the more common Zaire strain. Its effectiveness against the current Ebola strain caused by the Bundibugyo virus will be...

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Congo is running short of health workers to staff treatment centers for history's fastest-growing Ebola outbreak, particularly in the eastern province of North Kivu where cases have surged 73% over three weeks, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The warning came despite signs of improvement in other provinces, including Ituri, the outbreak's epicenter. The outbreak has spread to seven provinces, with 7,773 confirmed cases and 3,759 deaths, according to the latest government figures. READ MORE: Congo begins Ebola vaccinations for health workers in the epicenter of the outbreak Between Aug. 31 and Sept. 20, cases fell 26% in Ituri province and 15% in Haut-Uele, said Marie Roseline Belizaire, the WHO's regional emergency director for Africa. But transmission patterns vary widely and the outbreak remains uncontrolled, she said. "While cases and deaths are declining in some provinces, they continue to rise in others," Belizaire said. "The outbreak is still not under control and remains spread across a wide geographic area." The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fueled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers' strike and intense population movements. The World Health Organization has said it is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola...

The 11 Million Health Worker Gap: A Blueprint for Health Equity —my message to the Liverpool Labour Party Conference side event session on ‘Advancing Global Health Equity’, hosted by Action for Globa...

track by Pharaoh House Crash

BUNIA, Congo -- BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Congo on Saturday began vaccinating healthcare staff against Ebola in Bunia, the epicenter of the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease in history as they are “particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response,” the provincial governor said. Health workers and other front-line workers in the Ebola response are being prioritized to receive the Ervebo vaccine that was effective in past Ebola outbreaks caused by a different, more common type of virus. Clinical trials are ongoing to find a licensed vaccine for the current outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which has no licensed vaccine or treatment. The rollout is targeting the Bunia and Mongbwalu zones in Ituri province, health authorities said Saturday. Both areas are among the hardest-hit by the virus. “Our collective duty is to protect life. Launching this vaccination drive for front-line staff in Ituri is not an arbitrary choice, as these workers are particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response,” the military governor of Ituri, Maj. Gen. Gaby Kasongo Mulumba, said Saturday. The campaign in Ituri and North Kivu is expected to cover 20,000 front-line workers over a period of six to nine months. As of Saturday, the country...

  You can sign this open letter whether you are a healthworker, or a supporter of healthworkers (an ally). In this open letter in support of the White Tent Protest, we ask our governments, instit...