Oxfam suspends Ebola work amid protests over Democratic Republic of Congo vote delays
President Joseph Kabila claimed it would be a "disaster" if the virus spread at polling stations, contradicting health officials.
Friday 28 December 2018 18:32, UK
Oxfam has said it is suspending its Ebola outbreak response work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) due to violent protests by people barred from voting in the presidential election.
The charity's statement comes after the DRC's electoral commission delayed the vote in the Ebola-affected eastern cities of Beni and Butembo until March - well after the next president is inaugurated in January.
Everyone else in the country will get to vote on Sunday, a week after the elections had been due to take place.
Contradicting his own health officials, President Joseph Kabila claimed it would be a "disaster" if people using polling stations to vote infected others.
But the World Health Organisation warned "prolonged insecurity" in the country could erase gains make in tackling Ebola.
Police said 22 people have been arrested in protests against the president's move that began on Thursday.
Beni's police chief, Blaise Safari, told AP officers have been clearing streets of barricades amid the sound of gunfire after the police and army used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse marchers.
Experts from the World Health Organisation said precautions were taken so that people could vote, including tons of hand sanitiser and a screening of all voters entering polling stations.
In his comments on Thursday evening, Mr Kabila claimed that Ebola could spread as people taking part in the elections had to use voting machines, which required tapping on a touchscreen to select candidates.
A polling station could have 500 to 600 voters and "this assumes that a lot of people will be contaminated," he said.
However health officials have said voters would sanitise their hands before and after voting.
Until this week, the Ebola outbreak, which was declared on 1 August, had been a challenge but not a barrier to the election.
Voting is now delayed in the cities of Beni and Butembo, but not in other communities with confirmed Ebola cases.
DRC's opposition said the move to delay voting effectively prevents about a million people from taking part in the presidential elections,
Acting Oxfam country director Raphael Mbuyi said the situation is "extremely worrying" because any previous suspension in efforts to contain the deadly Ebola virus has led to a spike in new cases.
Mr Mbuyi added: "It's not surprising that people who have had their votes taken away at the last minute are frustrated and going to the streets. These people deserve to have their say as well."
DRC's health ministry said the uproar over a delayed presidential election in the two cities hit by a deadly Ebola outbreak has "badly disrupted" work to contain the virus.
Ebola typically targets adults, and the odds of surviving are poor, with more than 190 dying during the latest outbreak in Beni.
But the staff at charity ALIMA said they can prevent fatalities if victims get professional care quickly.
It is believed that between people, Ebola is spread only by direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of a person who has developed symptoms of the disease, including saliva and sweat.
The 2013-15 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa resulted in at least 28,616 suspected cases and 11,310 confirmed deaths.