Epidemics, Conflict, and Gold: What We Can Learn from DC’s Ebola Outbreak as We Respond to COVID-19

May 22, 2020 | Kady Seguin and Alan Martin
View Original

The COVID-19 pandemic is spotlighting the vulnerability of the world’s poorest during a time of crisis. This is especially evident in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) communities, a poverty-driven sector upon which an estimated 150 million people are dependent on worldwide.

But in the northeastern Ituri Province of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), COVID-19 is not the only epidemic that has recently threatened the well-being and security of ASM communities. Since August 2018, Ituri and its neighboring province North Kivu have been the epicentre of a deadly Ebola virus outbreak that has claimed almost 2,300 lives. It is the worst ever Ebola outbreak since the virus hit West Africa in 2014. While this latest outbreak in DRC is largely curbed, it has yet to be fully extinguished.

During the height of the Ebola outbreak, communities in eastern DRC lived and worked under constrained conditions to reduce transmission risks. This included health checkpoints, public health calls to limit movements and large gatherings (including in artisanal mining zones), and temporary border closures with neighbouring countries. So, what lessons can be drawn from this experience? And how can we apply them to our efforts to support ASM communities during and after COVID-19?