Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/violence-against-healthcare-workers-drc...
Dear Pradeep,
You asked: "It would be helpful to know what misinformation regarding Ebola was spread in DRC that led to violence and the unfortunate death of health workers."
See extracts from a BBC news item below. Read online: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c79yj09nd4qo
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'They said it isn't real': Ebola rumours fuel attacks on health workers
"They grabbed me from behind and started punching me, hitting me with spades and machetes," says Daniel Uyirwoth Welo, one of four Red Cross volunteers injured when a crowd tried to open a coffin carrying someone who had died from Ebola.
The 27-year-old and his colleagues were attempting to carry out a safe burial at a cemetery in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, last month when they were attacked. The assault was triggered by rumours - circulating locally and online - that the coffin was empty.
Some in the crowd said, "No Ebola doesn't exist," Welo told BBC Verify, adding that others believed the Red Cross team was there only "to get money".
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See also: Misconceptions and Rumors about Ebola Virus Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9027331/
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org