Instability in Congo is hamstringing efforts to prevent the spread of Ebola
blood is spilled by machete-wielding militiamen, outsiders barely notice. Was the death toll from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s civil war 800,000 or 5m? No one kept an accurate tally. By contrast, when blood spills out of Congolese Ebola victims, the world pays attention. The World Health Organisation says that 1,707 people have so far died in Congo’s current Ebola outbreak. On July 17th it declared it a global health emergency.
It is obvious why an infectious and often fatal virus concerns everyone. Unchecked, it might spread into neighbouring Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and beyond. More cases have been reported in the bustling border city of Goma. The world is right to take this epidemic seriously, and to pour resources into fighting it. However, it should also spare a thought for the other kind of bloodshed in Congo—not least because it makes tackling Ebola much harder.
The most urgent task is to identify those who have been infected, treat them and vaccinate the people with whom they have come in contact. A big push now will cost less, and save more lives, than a weaker effort that lets the epidemic grow. Neighbouring countries should resist the temptation to ban travellers from Congo—many would simply sneak across borders, making it harder to monitor infections. Fighting Ebola will require some actual fighting, too.
In the long run, Congo needs better, cleaner government. If Mr Tshisekedi is sincere about reform, there are several things he could start doing now. His predecessor hardly built anything—Congo has whole cities without grid power. Mr Tshisekedi should work with private investors to build roads and generate electricity, without which Congo cannot properly exploit its mineral wealth, let alone move beyond it.
Most donors do not want to reward a stolen election. But no one wants to see the collapse of a state seven times the size of Germany at the heart of Africa, either. It is too early to say whether Mr Tshisekedi’s regime will be as corrupt as its predecessors, but it might not be. Mr Kabila’s baleful influence may wane. Despots who seek to remain in charge by bequeathing their office to a puppet sometimes succeed .
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