00:00The Democratic Republic of Congo is taking extra steps to protect children caught up in the country's latest Ebola outbreak.
00:07Authorities have set up special nurseries next to Ebola treatment centers,
00:12providing care for children whose parents have tested positive and are receiving treatment.
00:19Watch if the mother has a child, yet she doesn't have a person responsible for looking after the child.
00:25We separate the mother and the child, and the child is cared for here at the nursery facility,
00:30while the mother is at the Ebola treatment center.
00:35Officials say the centers are designed to reduce the risk of infection
00:39while ensuring children continue to receive the care and protection they need during the crisis.
00:44At this facility, we have psychologists,
00:48and one psychologist is dedicated solely to providing psychological support
00:53to children in the nursery who have psychological problems.
00:57We had three children from the same family here, including a 16-year-old girl.
01:04The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention has described the outbreak as very serious,
01:11warning that continued vigilance is needed to contain the virus.
01:18Children have unique needs, and they're affected in unique ways.
01:22And actually, the impact of a crisis like this can be across a huge number of areas,
01:28well beyond those people who are infected in particular.
01:31It can affect schooling, it can affect regular health.
01:34We know children, for instance, particularly under five, are vulnerable to diarrhea diseases,
01:39to malaria, to other diseases that often have very similar symptoms to Ebola.
01:44So it's important that the health services, the education services keep in mind children
01:48and make sure there's no indirect impacts of a response that could hit the battery even further
01:53than the numbers who are infected.
01:54According to the latest government figures,
01:57the DRC has recorded more than 1,400 confirmed Ebola cases, including 438 deaths.
02:04And we live in the universe.
02:07MEGA
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