By Bonface Mulyungi

The EU said Sunday it has flown in 100 tonnes of humanitarian aid — including medicine, tents and protective gear — to a hard-to-reach area in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo struggling with an Ebola outbreak.

The DRC declared an epidemic of the haemorrhagic fever on May 15, and the World Health Organization has declared an international health emergency over the outbreak.

The latest WHO toll from the epidemic is 452 cases in DRC and neighbouring Uganda, and 82 deaths. There is no specific vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo Ebola strain behind the latest outbreak.

The epidemic’s epicentre is in the DRC province of Ituri, which is difficult to access on poorly maintained roads and because of the threat of armed groups that have made the region insecure.

The European Commission said in a statement that a “humanitarian air bridge” to Bunia, the main city in Ituri, it has established with UNICEF flew in the 100 tonnes of aid.

The EU commissioner for crisis management, Hadja Lahbib, on Sunday arrived at Bunia airport and called for humanitarian and health workers in the region to be allowed guaranteed access to people in need.