Implementing of mental health services in an area affected by prolonged war and Ebola disease outbreak: case of North-Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

North Kivu province, in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo, has experienced armed conflicts for more than two decades. It is currently the epicenter of the second-largest Ebola disease outbreak ever recorded, which caused 3310 confirmed cases and 2273 deaths. The associated mental health problems caused by the war and the outbreaks of Ebola and Coronavirus have placed a bigger burden on the ailing health services. There is no functional work plan in the DRC that caters to these mental health problems. This paper highlights the deficiencies of mental health services in North-Kivu and then prescribes solutions on how to provide holistic mental health services in the presence of an ongoing war and highly contagious epidemic.