More than 300 children have died since mid-May in the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Children represent nearly a quarter of confirmed cases but account for almost a third of all deaths.

The outbreak is concentrated in Ituri province, where nearly one million people have been displaced by conflict, with women and children making up around 80 percent of the displaced population, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.

The crisis has severely disrupted essential healthcare services. UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in New York that in the hardest-hit areas, health service usage has dropped by more than 40 percent in recent months due to fear of infection. This has particularly affected pregnant women, with roughly six women dying each week from childbirth-related complications and Ebola infection during pregnancy linked to almost universal fetal loss.

In response, approximately 13,000 community workers have been deployed by the Congolese health ministry and partners, including the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO convened advisory groups after the Bundibugyo species outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 16 May. Health experts are urging trials of the only vaccine against the disease to help halt the spread of this rare Ebola strain.

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UN News: Ebola in DR Congo: Childhood deaths rise; hopes raised over new vaccine