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Can you think about the last time you started a new job? How everything was new for you, processes were confusing. Now, imagine that this new job is responding to the resurgence of Ebola in a neighbouring country during a pandemic. This is the tough job Jimmy Zaka Mansongele had to face when he was sent to the Republic of Congo as an Operations Manager for the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) knew what to do. It was one of the few benefits to come out of the country’s previous experience with Ebola.

As we get ready in ring in 2020, we're reflecting on some events from the past decade that brought together international aid workers, inspired innovative solutions to complex challenges, and showed the amazing capacity for resilience humans have in the face of disasters.

Earlier in 2019, students came together to come up with innovative solutions for the complex response to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In this guest blog post, the winning team talks about their solution. 

Since the discovery of the Ebola virus, in 1976, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has experienced ten outbreaks. The deadliest one yet is currently ravaging the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. We’re talking about thousands of people impacted – dozens of new cases are identified each day, limited access to affected populations, armed groups who are not helping the situation and the increasingly obvious threat of the disease spreading to bordering countries. However, what we are not hearing about are the real-life consequences of the virus on survivors, on their family and on their community.   
 

Despite tremendous efforts from healthcare providers, death is a natural and expected part of epidemics. But because of the infectious nature of Ebola, this does leave a logistical issue – how do we bury the dead, someone’s loved one - in a way that is respectful but also protects against more people becoming ill?
 

Humanitarian worker Jean-Baptiste Lacombe just got back from a mission to North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to combat the Ebola outbreak. He is here to share a touching story about a courageous young woman.
 

For the second time in a matter of months, Ebola once again threatens lives in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). With an outbreak of Ebola in DRC’s North Kivu declared in August, fast response is needed to contain the disease’s devastation on communities already weakened by armed conflict. Canadian aid worker Jamie LeSueur has led the Ebola response operation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).