Portuguese physician Tomás Bandeira defended to Lusa that mental health is a priority in the response to the Ebola epidemic in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), where the disease “destroys entire families and communities”.
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25/10/2026
by
Lusa
O portuguese physician Tomás Bandeira defended to Lusa that mental health is a priority in the response to the Ebola epidemic in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), where the disease “destroys entire families and communities”.
Working on the ground in Mongbwalu, Tomás Bandeira, head of tropical medicine of the organization Médicos Sem Fronteiras (MSF), stressed that the psychological intervention of the organization on the site is a priority and covers both medical teams and patients – extending from the moment of hospitalization to the follow-up after hospital discharge – as well as their families.
“ We know that in fact Ebola disease is a disease that destroys at various levels. Destroy lives, of course, but destroy entire families and communities” in this neighboring nation of Angola, warned.
Therefore, the mental health team of the MSF, composed of psychologists and specialists, works on the creation of family and community support networks, he explained.
The mortality rate close to 50% particularly impacts health professionals, the Portuguese physician said.
“ I think that no doctor, no nurse is prepared, nor is he used to dealing with this type of situations in which each person dies”, he observed.
“ Seeing a patient with Ebola die in our hands is something that we do not forget”, he added.
To face daily pressure and maintain performance on the ground, the MSF professional advocates an approach focused on success cases: “Instead of looking at the 50% that die, we have to hold on to the 50% that survive. Every patient that comes to us is a new battle”, he said.
“ We cannot be thinking about those we lost, but thinking about those we manage and who continue to make sense for our work here”, he concluded.
The Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Africa, Mohamed Yakub Janabi, said, in an interview with Lusa, that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo) counted, on October 20, 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths, which translates a mortality rate of 48.3%.
Ebola is highly contagious and is transmitted through direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person, including blood and vomiting, or through contact with contaminated materials and surfaces such as linen and clothing.